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Thailand has been named the “Sexiest
Romance/Honeymoon Destination in Asia” by readers of US-based
Recommend magazine, joining numerous awards the kingdom has won over the
years and further reaffirming the country’s longstanding status as one of
the world’s top honeymoon destinations.
The long-established
Recommend magazine, in its 43rd year, is read by a wide
network of US-based travel agents. The publication announced the winners
of its 18th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards in the December
2014 issue and on the magazine’s website (recommend.com/rca).
The awards comprise
12 categories, and the 2014 edition awarded 56 winners, including
destinations, cruise lines, tour operators, travel agents and airlines.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor
Thawatchai Arunyik said, “This award is another testament to Thailand’s
wide variety of upscale tourism products and services that suit the needs
of newlyweds and loving couples wanting to create an ever-lasting memory
of their nuptials.
"The award is also a result of the tireless effort by
our offices in the US to work closely with travel agents as well as to
reiterate greater awareness of Thailand among travellers in the US
market.”
TAT has been marketing the US market
aggressively over the years, via both offline and online marketing
platforms. In December 2014, TAT’s BookThailandNow website recorded a
total of 387 “Buy Now Clicks” tour bookings, generating US$580,500 in
revenue or at an average of US$1,500 per package.
Most bookings are in
the “Romance” and “Adventure” sections including the “Andaman Island
Hopping – 10 Day Tour” from Chinapac.com (totalling 150 bookings) and
“The Great Escape – 3 Days 2 Nights” from AoNangPhupetra.com (totalling
62 bookings).
In addition, the TAT Los Angeles Office
recently launched two websites. The ThailandforTravelAgents.com is to provide
webinar sessions, e-material (brochures/video/pictures) and Thailand’s
tourism information while the ThaiTheKnotSpecialist.com is for agents
specialising in the wedding and honeymoon markets.
Both TAT Offices
in New York and Los Angeles have also provided continuous support to
US-based media on their field visits to Thailand. American writer, Becca
Hensley, who joined the “Elephant Polo and Sustainability Press Trip” to
the kingdom in September 2014, has written four articles on Thailand for
several publications, including the “Just Do It Honeymoons that Go Beyond
the Lounge Chair” article that was recently published on the New Orleans
Bride Magazine’s website on 5 January, 2015. (http://www.myneworleans.com/New-Orleans-Bride/Winter-2015/Just-Do-It).
Thailand is also a popular destination
among the world’s celebrity couples. Among them are Beyonce and Jay-Z who
celebrated a Christmas break with their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, in
Phuket from 24 December, 2014 to 5 January, 2015.
In 2014, Thailand welcomed a total of
1,104,714 tourists from the Americas market, including Argentina, Brazil,
Canada and the US. Of the total, there were 764,745 travellers from the
US and 213,161 from Canada. In 2015, TAT expects the number of visitor
arrivals from the US to increase by 5 per cent.
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