As Phuket reopens for international travel from July 1, Thailand launches a retail campaign that will stimulate Thai and foreign tourists’ spending to revive the economy.
The campaign called ‘HUG THAIS’ is launched following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC).
H.E. Mr. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports, said, “The ‘HUG THAIS’ project is the latest public-private sector initiative of TAT, the Thai government, and partners like the TCC to reinvigorate Thailand’s tourism industry and the wider national economy. Such cooperation is vital as Thailand progresses towards once again enjoying its status as a preferred tourist destination.”
The ‘HUG THAIS’ project will be launched with the pilot ‘HUG THAIS HUG PHUKET’ programme in July 2021, to coincide with the much-awaited reopening of Phuket to tourism under the ‘Sandbox’ model, which begins 1 July. This will see the island welcoming vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine requirements and is to be followed by the subsequent reopening of other destinations in the coming months.
Among the ‘HUG THAIS HUG PHUKET’ initiatives on offer to Thai and foreign tourists will be discounts of up to 10% when they spend 1,000 Baht or more in the retail sector, and 100 Baht cash coupons for use on their next visits at participating shops and outlets.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, said, “The ‘HUG THAIS HUG PHUKET’ project is aimed at revitalising Phuket’s tourism and service industry and in doing so, leading the way for the similar revitalisation of other destinations around Thailand.”
As the ‘HUG THAIS’ project will also be introduced in other Thai destinations, TAT will provide marketing and publicity support to stimulate travel and tourism expenditure of both Thai and foreign tourists on ‘Eat More’ local food, ‘Travel More’ within Thailand, and ‘Shop More’ for products of Thailand at shops and outlets with the ‘HUG THAIS’ logo.
The ‘HUG THAIS’ project is expected to help generate an estimated over 100 billion Baht to the Thai economy within the next six months.
