BANGKOK, 16 February 2023: WebBeds, a global B2B hotel booking channel, presented its sales and marketing pitch at its inaugural IMPACT Summit in Bangkok, led by commercial presidents from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific.
Hosted at Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld on 8 February 2023, senior executives from WebBeds and guest speakers from the Tourism Authority of Thailand presented industry updates to an audience of more than 500 hoteliers who attended in person and another 400 WebBed partners who live-streamed the IMPACT Summit from around the world.
TAT was represented by the deputy governor of international marketing for Europe, Africa, the Middle East & Americas, Siripakorn Cheawsamoot and the executive director for East Asia, Chuwit Sirivajjakul, who advised delegates on understanding the tourism environment and how to align their business plans with the actions of the TAT.
Siripakorn shared the TAT’s vision for its long-haul markets by outlining an action plan, labelled “A-B-C-D”, which prioritises four key areas.
Airline Focus (attracting more flights and greater capacity with airlines).
Big Cities & Beyond (expanding Thailand’s source markets to more major urban centres worldwide).
Collaboration is Key (working with new strategic partners, including airlines, airports, tour operators and travel agencies).
Destination for All (making Thailand an all-year-round destination for a wider variety of market segments).
Chuwit elaborated on TAT’s 2023 marketing campaigns and activations for East Asia, focusing on reopening Mainland China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. He also revealed how consumer behaviour has changed over the years and what opportunities lie ahead for hoteliers targeting these important markets.
The IMPACT Summit marked the second WebBeds initiative to stimulate travel and tourism to Thailand, following last year’s “Excel and Upsell” forum in Bangkok. Both initiatives are part of TAT’s partnership with commercial online travel booking systems to boost arrivals to Thailand in the post-Covid-19 era.
WebBeds CEO Daryl Lee commented: “We are delighted to collaborate with the TAT once again, as WebBeds continues to support the growth of travel and hospitality in Thailand and worldwide.
“This event marked our first IMPACT Summit… At WebBeds, we firmly believe that our industry is always stronger when it works together, so we truly appreciate the support from the TAT. This was the first of many IMPACT Summits, and we look forward to collaborating with our esteemed partners in the months and years to come to help forge a strong and sustainable future for the entire industry.”
TAT claims Thailand welcomed 11.15 million international visitors in 2022, with Malaysia, India, Singapore and South Korea as the top-performing source markets. An initial target of 25 million arrivals has been set for 2023. While this remains lower than the 40 million visitors achieved in 2019, it represents a sharp improvement on the dramatic slump in visitors in 2020 and 2021 during the height of Covid-19 lockdowns.
