Amazing Thailand reveals its New Shades

TED DAVIS

(Photo above: The new campaign slogan by the Tourism Authority of Thailand at the Thailand location in the TRAVEX trade show at the ATF in Chiang Mai last week.)

As the tourism arrivals leader in the ASEAN region, Thailand has every reason to retain confidence in its well known tourism tag line, “Amazing Thailand.” But as vacation trends and tastes evolve, the country’s tourism authorities have deemed that a new angle on the tried and true favourite will be beneficial and necessary.
As such, the TAT has introduced a new campaign and slogan that has been designed to promote tourism to secondary destinations in the country. The tagline “Open to the New Shades” was introduced during the 2018 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), which ran last week in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The communication strategies for the international market will continue to use “Amazing Thailand,” which has been a popular and well-recognized marketing slogan for 20 years.
But “Open to the New Shades” will be deployed in tandem, and “will uncover new perceptions of attractions in Thailand.”
As well, the communication campaign will introduce brand-new products to vacationers or reveal new characteristics of well-known destinations. It is designed to attract more repeat visitors, as well as first-timers.
“From this concept, we will look into the million shades of Thailand,” said Tanes Petsuwan, the deputy governor for marketing communications at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, during a press conference at the ATF. He noted that these will be reflected in tourism attractions based in gastronomy, nature, beaches, arts/craft, culture and ways of life.
“We believe this campaign will help initiate ideas for tourists to find new experiences even if it is a familiar destination,” said Petsuwan.
More of these new “shades” will involve the participation of neighbouring nations in the region, some of which share borders with Thailand.
These international travel experiences have been designed as part of an ASEAN connectivity initiative, and have been dubbed “Experience Thailand and More.”
The routes include”

• A Journey to the ASEAN Ancient Kingdom – showcasing northern Thailand and its links to Laos and Myanmar.
• The ASEAN Peranakan and Nature Trail – which links Malaysia’s coastal Peranakan cities to Phuket’s Peranakan culture and gastronomy.
• The Mekong Active Adventure Trail that combines attractions in Thailand’s Northeast (Isan) region with those in Cambodia.