Thailand goes from amazing to miraculous

The Tourism Authority has a new campaign, but says it needs more cash to pull it off

29 August, 2011       

 

Thailand's Maya Bay is certainly worthy of the "amazing" tag. But does it fall into the "miracle" zone?

Suddenly, being amazing just isn’t good enough. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is reportedly planning to replace its long-running "Amazing Thailand" theme with a campaign called “Miracle Thailand.”

According to The Nation, the TAT wants 8.4 billion baht from the government to finance the 2011-2012 tourism campaign. Officials say the extra funds would be spent mostly on marketing activities both at home and abroad.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reportedly hopes to boost total visitors to 30 million per year in the next four years, while the private sector has predicted that the country would welcome more than 19 million tourists this year.

But a report on travel news site TR Weekly said the private sector is having doubts about the new government’s “Miracle Thailand” campaign.

"Critics claim the government is just putting a new label on old ideas in the hope the publicity and media spin will drive tourists arrivals without detailed consideration of the content," said the report.
"It could also undermine confidence in TAT’s campaigns, while confusing the markets with yet another slogan that lacks clarity or substance for the industry to successfully pin to their promotional efforts."

The TAT has gone through several taglines in recent years, with past slogans including "Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value," "Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You," "Unseen Thailand," and "Happiness on Earth."

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