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The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently held the annual TAT Action Plan for 2018 meeting, which covers both international and domestic tourism. TAT’s marketing plan 2018 has been designed to serve the purpose of generating revenue and increase visitor arrivals, promote new ideas and follow the development agenda of Thailand 4.0 using the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, as well as Inclusive Tourism that maintains a balance between the economy, society and the environment.  All the strategies are in line with the 12^th National Economic and Social Development Plan and 2^nd National Tourism Development Plan.

As 2017 is considered as a challenging year, TAT has been putting their best efforts on tourism marketing in order to stimulate the country’s economy. Many activities; such as, Village to the World, Creative Thailand and The Link have been created to highlight the Thai Local Experience. This has proven successful as the number of potential visitors and first-time visitors has increased significantly. Therefore, TAT will keep working on this concept for its action plan in 2018.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor said, “TAT will use tourism to promote sustainable development with the community as the ultimate beneficiary. We believe this will pave the way for Thailand to be a preferred destination among international visitors.”

To be targeted over the 12-month period of the fiscal year 2018, beginning October 2017, the niche-market customer segments were finalised at the annual TAT Action Plan meeting held between 11-14 July, 2017.

For the international marketing plan strategy, TAT has segmented target customers worldwide ranging from first-timers to repeaters, senior citizens to sports enthusiasts. TAT will also emphasise on niche markets including, Weddings and Honeymoons, and Ladies, as well as continue to create a brand image as a high-end and Luxury Travel destination.

Gastronomy Tourism will be focussed on more, which is considered as an important part of the travel through local experiences. It is also one of the tools to boost the development of the country’s economy by adding value to products and services that are based on the unique Thai culture and ways of life. Some of the highlighted activities are the opening of the Michelin Guidebook Bangkok and Thailand will host the 4^th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism.

The communication strategies for the international market will continue to use “Amazing Thailand”, which has been a popular and well-recognised marketing slogan for nearly 20 years. TAT will still use “Discover Amazing Stories in Amazing Thailand”.

In 2018, TAT will change its marketing angle slightly with a new concept of “Open to the New Shades of Thailand”. The concept will deepen the Unique Thai Local Experience to a Million Shades of Thailand. This will give more depth to the presentation of Thailand’s tourism, grow the business for grassroots tourism sector players, and enhance the country’s image as a land of amazing diversity worth discovering further.

source: TAT NEWS

Golden Emperor has been sustaining its prestigious status in the overseas property market with accomplished experience, well recognized by the public and received numerous distinguished awards. We were honored to receive the “Overseas Property Agency Award” by Capital Weekly on last Friday (July 14) in the 10^th Capital Weekly Services Awards 2017 ceremony, having our expertise in the industry and profession towards our clients exalted. Mr. Terence Chan, Managing Director of Golden Emperor, was impressed by the heartfelt enthusiasm and promised to launch more quality investment projects, to deliver to both Hong Kong’s and overseas clients the best and thorough services, enabling them to get a comprehensive picture of the overseas property market.

Above: Golden Emperor has received copious awards since its establishment. Last week, we were awarded the “Overseas Property Agency Award” by Capital Weekly in The 10th Capital Weekly Services Awards 2017.

The 10^th Capital Weekly Services Awards 2017 aims to acknowledge brands and enterprises that provide the ultimate service to customers, to further affirm their commitment to profession. To receive the award, the companies need to be assessed in the following criteria: before- and after- sales service, customer service, goodwill, customer loyalty, market acceptance, and popularity, plus they need to get voted by readers and after the meticulous screening from the judging panel. Only after the strict assessment could the companies be crowned leaders of the respective industry.

Above: Mr. Terence Chan (middle), Managing Director of Golden Emperor, Ms. Cubie Chan (right), Project Development Director of Golden Emperor, and Ms. Alice Lee (left), Director of Golden Emperor attended the award ceremony.

Above: Twenty-four awards were presented in the ceremony, among which Golden Emperor received the “Overseas Property Agency Award.”

Vietnam’s new residential housing law implemented on 1st July 2015 allows foreigners to buy properties in the country for a 50-year leasehold with renewal possibility upon expiration. This, coupled with infrastructure developments such as the Metro (MRT) system and the new CBD Nam Từ Liêm (the upcoming “West Kowloon” area of Hanoi) will contribute to upside in property market. Golden Emperor partnered with CapitaLand to launch a Vietnam Property Investment Seminar, Seasons Avenue by CapitaLand possesses great investment potential with high rental yield, was launched at our event as well, the seminar attracting many investors attended over the weekend.

Above: Many investors attended the weekend exhibition.

Above: Terence Chan, Director of Golden Emperor, provided a presentation on investing in Hanoi.

Above: Our clients in Hong Kong had exclusive offer during the event.

Vietnam’s economy records positive growth: In the first half of 2017, Vietnam’s GDP growth was estimated at 5.7%, higher than the 5.5% in 1Q16, according to the General Statistics Office. In terms of econo​mic structure, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector witnessed growth of 2.7% y-o-y despite the effects of harsh climatic and environmental disasters. The industrial and construction sector grew by 5.8% y-o-y, lower than the 7.1% in 2016 owing to a significant decline in the mining sector. Meanwhile, by end-2Q17, the service sector recorded record growth of more than 6.9% y-o-y, the highest figure since 2012.

Retail sales and international arrivals increase sharply: Vietnam’s retail sales and service turnover in the January-June period soared to 10.1% y-o-y. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of international tourist arrivals to Vietnam sharply increased by 30.2% compared with the same period last year, reaching more than 6.2 million visitors, as of 2Q17. Amid countries and territories, China remained the leading source with nearly 1.9 million visitors, an impressive growth of 56.7% over the same period in 2016. Russia ranked second in the key source countries for international tourists to Vietnam, rising by 53.4% y-o-y. Recently, the Vietnam Government has extended a visa waiver programme for five European countries – the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – along with implementing promotions in an attempt to attract more potential markets.

FDI continues upswing: Vietnam lured USD 19.2 billion of FDI in the 1H2017, representing a rise of 54.8% y-o-y. There were 1,183 newly licensed projects worth USD 11.8 billion. FDI disbursement reached USD 7.7 billion, an increase of 6.5% y-o-y. The processing and manufacturing sector attracted the highest capital at USD 9.5 billion, accounting for 49.3% of total FDI, followed by electricity, gas and air conditioning supply at USD 5.3 billion, mining at USD 1.3 billion and the wholesale and retail sector at more than USD 0.9 billion.

Meanwhile, real estate was in the fifth position with a total investment capital of USD 0.7 billion in which 39 project were newly registered, worth USD 0.5 billion. By country, Japan was the largest foreign investor in the period with USD 5.1 billion, followed by South Korea with more than USD 4.9 billion and Singapore with USD 3.5 billion. The largest-scale projects licensed include the USD 2.8 billion Nghi Son 2 power plant (Japan) in Thanh Hoa, Samsung Display Vietnam (South Korea) worth USD 2.5 billion in Bac Ninh and the USD 1.3 billion USD B-O Mon gas pipe project (Japan) in Kien Giang.

CPI to record slower growth in June: Vietnam’s CPI as at late June witnessed growth of 2.5% y-o-y, yet a minor decrease of 0.2% m-o-m. The overall CPI saw an average increase of 4.2% for the first six months in 2017 versus the same period in 2016. Among 11 groups of products and services, the medical and health service sector and the education sector continued to have the highest growth rates, of 47.9% and 10%, respectively, compared with 2016. The CPI in housing and construction materials in the 1H2017 showed an upturn of 4.1% y-o-y. Meanwhile, the remaining groups grew gradually, with the transportation sector and beverages and tobacco products up 8.8% and 1.6%, respectively, for six months of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam trade deficit to reach more than USD 2.7 billion: According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the country recorded a trade deficit of USD 2.7 billion in the first half of 2017. The import value was USD 100.5 billion, up 24.1% over the same period in 2016, while export revenue was estimated at USD 97.8 billion, up just 18.9% y-o-y. With regard to the major markets, the United States was still the largest export market with USD 19.6 billion, up 9.5% y-o-y, followed by the EU with USD 18.2 billion (up 12.6%) and China with USD 13 billion (up 42.5%). The country’s Asian peers were the key import markets; China had an import value of USD 27.1 billion (up 16.8%), South Korea USD 22.5 billion (up 51.2%) and ASEAN USD 13.6 billion (up 17.6%).

The number of newly registered enterprises to grow: There were 61,276 newly registered enterprises recorded from the beginning of 2017 to end-June, up 12.4% in the number of enterprises and up 39.4% in registered capital compared with the same period in 2017. The capital of each newly established enterprise averaged about VND 9.7 billion, a rise of 24%. In addition, the real estate sector soared by 68.3% in the number of enterprises to more than 2.3 thousand firms, accounting for 3.7% of the total number of new enterprises. The number of enterprises that completed the process for dissolution decreased by 1.2% y-o-y to 5,443 and the number of enterprises that terminated business activity was 37,907 in the first six months of 2017, a marked increase of 21.8% from the same period of 2016.

Source: JLL

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is inviting tourists and locals to observe the colourful festival of Khao Phansa Day, marking the start of Buddhist Lent, which this year is being celebrated on 9 July, in unique Thai local ways nationwide.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor said, “Khao Phansa Day is one of the most beautiful of Thailand’s festivals and sees Thais celebrating the official start of the rainy season and an important Buddhist holiday. But they do so in a variety of ways in different parts of the kingdom. Visitors can experience various aspects of the people, customs and culture found in Thailand, and discover why every trip here is unique.”

Khao Phansa Day, known as vassavasa takes place on the day after the full moon of the eighth lunar month (July). The celebrations in Thailand give visitors a unique insight into the culture of the area in which they are held. In Saraburi, for example, local flowers are donated to monks as a way of making merit while in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, candles are paraded on boats to celebrate the canal and boat life of the old Thai capital.

In Ubon Ratchathani, the International Wax Candle Festival and Wax Candle Procession celebrates the tradition of carving wax images and candles with teams coming from all over the world to compete in a wax sculpture competition.

Khao Phansa is also the day when traditionally monks would go to the temples and stay there for three months of meditation and study. Their need for candlelight – as there were no electricity in the old days – during this time led to a tradition of carving amazing wax effigies and sculptures, which now play a big role in the celebrations.

As well as the processions of exquisitely carved candles and wax displays, Khao Phansa Day is celebrated with parades, folk dancing in traditional costumes, music and storytelling.

As the three-month period of Buddhist Lent is observed as a time of abstinence from drinking and eating to excess, people often see Khao Phansa Day as the last chance to indulge in their favourite local snacks and dishes. So many celebrations will have food fairs and booths selling local specialties. This makes the festival a great time to explore the unique culinary offerings of each district.

Mr. Yuthasak concluded, “Khao Phansa is the highlight of Thailand’s Green Season and gives visitors the chance to experience the deep spiritually of the Thai people, not to mention the fun, or sanuk that marks all celebrations in the kingdom. We invite people to join us at this special time and discover our unique Thai local experience in its purest form.”

Source: TAT