The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) seeks to attract international visitors into the country by becoming a global medical destination by 2024.
According to TAT Governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, Thailand’s reputation as a go-to destination for healthcare tourists could further boost the country’s medical and wellness sectors.
The TAT official also added that the pandemic increased people’s awareness of the importance of healthcare, thus spurting the demand for preventive and regenerative medical tourism.
To achieve the objective in the next five years, TAT said that it would broaden the targeted market to some 1 million Thais overseas.
The experiences of Thais in healthcare amenities abroad could entice them to return to Thailand to afford better medical services.
The Deputy Governor of TAT for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, Srisuda Wanapinyosak, stated that they have five planned campaigns to achieve the goal by 2024.
The first campaign is to provide online and telemedicine services for Thais abroad.
The telemedicine campaign would work under a partnership with other online medical platforms, Dr. A to Z, and the Department of Consular Affairs.
The second part is to engage and tap into prospective healthcare tourists globally through enlisting hotels as stakeholders into the plan.
Deputy Governor Wanapinyosak said:
“Hotels can be another communication and distribution channel to publicize health services in Thailand.”
She also added:
“They can work with partner hospitals in giving preliminary consultations before guests travel to Thailand for medical packages.”
The next campaign’s focus is to increase the medical tourism market by creating business-to-business platforms for health workers in Thailand and health prospectors overseas.
Additionally, the 2024 goal seeks to foster government-to-government relations with other countries to target civil servants with state health insurance.
The fifth and last campaign aims to increase agent and media exposure of TAT’s offices globally.
In 2018, Thailand had recorded 3.2 million medical visitors, registering a total of 45 billion baht income for the country.
Last week, Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports expressed that the country will prioritize targeting wealthy tourists, shying away from the famous backpacking scene.
The tourism landscape of Thailand looks sure to change, with the government utilizing the pandemic to revamp the tourism sector and the country’s marketing abroad.
Source: Bangkok Post
