2010 Thailand Travel Mart will highlight the return of confidence to the destination

THAILAND (eTN) – The Thailand Travel Mart (TTM) is a core element for the travel industry to look at Thailand’s latest trends for its tourism activity, as well as an important meeting time for all tour operators eager to put Thailand in their programs. Originally planned during the first days of June, the TTM was postponed at the last minute as uncertainties at the time continued to plague the Kingdom. Three months later, however, Thailand continues on the path of its normalization.

Although the State of Emergency is still going on in Bangkok and some of the provinces surrounding the capital, it has been lifted in almost the entire country. Less than a week ago, Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lifted the State of Emergency in the provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, despite the fact that both are perceived as bastions of the Red Shirt opposition movement.

Normalcy is what the TTM will be all about: the travel show which takes place from September 8 to 10 at the Impact Muang Thong Thani Convention and Exhibition Center. There are over 340 buyers from 49 countries registered. Apart from India, the largest buyer delegations come from the USA (26), United Kingdom (24), Russia (22), and Korea (16). The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) decided to invite new buyers from Brazil, Mexico, the UAE, Turkey, Lithuania, and Kazakhstan to experience Thailand’s tourism range. Buyers will then meet some 428 sellers from various business categories such as
hotels and resorts, tour operators and travel agents, ecotourism and adventure, wellness and spa, and airlines, as well as entertainment/theme parks/culture products, golf courses, and associations. As the gateway to the Greater Mekong Subregion, NTOs and private travel operators from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam will also be present.

TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni said: “This year’s TTM is very important to all of us, because it comes as part of our recovery program from the recent political unrest. It is also part of our strategy to diversify the sources of visitor arrivals and expose Thailand and the GMS region to new buyers from countries and regions which could deliver promising results in the future.”

Foreign tourist arrivals during the first six months of this year reached 7.52 million, a growth of 13.7 percent over the same period in 2009. Although the evolution is positive, this growth could have been stronger if April and May did not experience tourist arrivals plunging because of political unrest.