PHUKET: The Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2022 (TTM+ 2022) is proving to be a great opportunity for the kingdom's tourism revival.
Thailand's Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said the three-day TTM+ 2022 would spur business negotiations and meetings to be appropriately organised, right after the county had reopened its borders to international tourists.
"As a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, international travel was halted.
"Even domestic travel did not go well due to the lockdown measures, of which the degree of restrictions depended on each country's management.
"Therefore, this is going to be the first time in a few years to bring back the atmosphere in tourism after the pandemic has eased," Pipat said at the launch of TTM+ 2022 at the Angsana Laguna Phuket.
Also present was Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
Pipat said that with the improvement in the control of the pandemic worldwide, many countries had eased their travel measures and started to reopen for tourism as well.
"In the recent past, Thailand tried to maintain the balance between the economy and public health measures.
"When Thailand officially announced the country's full reopening from June 1 onwards, it provided a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to take advantage of this international event to enhance business connections or contacts.
"It also allowed for new acquaintances in the tourism industry, who may become new players," said Pipat.
He added that with Phuket's reputation as one of the top tourist destinations in the world, he felt assured that Thailand would benefit immensely from TTM+ 2022.
"Also, with the government's operational policy that focuses on sustainable growth, and the Bio-Circular Green Economy (or BCG business model), the cooperation among hoteliers in Phuket is very encouraging.
"They understand the importance of being a good host, as well as provide credible marketing by the local service providers to stimulate tourism once more.
"However small or medium enterprises they may be, they all help to distribute opportunities to new stakeholders to be ready to engage their businesses at an international level and be able to grow in a sustainable direction.
"All of these are contributing factors to boost Thailand's economy," Pipat said.
He called on participants to take advantage of the great opportunity to communicate and create awareness of the country's campaign - 'Visit Thailand Year: Amazing New Chapters' – among foreign entrepreneurs to grasp up-to-date information.
TTM+ 2022, Pipat said, also offered direct experiences from actual locations and responsible tourism that many countries were using as a selling point.
"The success of TTM+ 2022 should also be regarded as a platform to forge cordial relationships that would benefit industrial partners and competitors, on different occasions.
"I will like to congratulate TAT and the related parties who have contributed to create this activity, aimed at further developing innovations to drive the Thai tourism industry," he said.
TTM+ 2022 has attracted a total of 276 buyers from 42 countries and 264 sellers from across four regions of Thailand.
In addition, around 90 domestic and international media are also attending the event.