Posts Tagged :

thailand tourism forum

Thailand Tourism Forum Pushes Innovation Centre Stage

 500 318 wttc2
By:

Thailand Tourism Forum Pushes Innovation Centre Stage - TRAVELINDEX - VISITTHAILANDBangkok, Thailand, January 17, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / As Thailand’s tourism industry powers its way into an accelerated period of recovery, with international arrivals pouring in and China poised to create the next big wave, what’s the ensuing step for the Kingdom? The world has changed over the last three years so how is Thailand innovating to reshape the sector or is it back to the days of mass tourism?

Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF 2023) returned to Bangkok on Monday 16th January 2023 for its 12th annual edition to debate the issues and inspire future concepts. Running under the theme “Innovation in Hospitality”, the creative half-day event featured top-level speakers and discussions on key issues set to influence the industry in the months and years to come.

An 800-strong crowd of travel and hospitality professionals took part and heard how Thailand’s tourism machine needs to reinvent itself and become a pioneering force in branding, design and technology if it is to emerge stronger and more sustainable in the post-pandemic era.

Following an opening address by Bill Barnett, Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks, the event’s organiser, who explained “Why Thailand Must Innovate”, the forum’s keynote speaker took to the stage. Wallapa Traisorat, CEO & President of Asset World Corporation (AWC), Thailand’s leading hotel owner and developer, tackled the topic of “Creating a New Hospitality Landscape with Brands”.

Other important issues on the agenda included “Disruption and Change in Hotel Technology & Distribution” with Liz Perkins, Hilton’s Vice President of Revenue Management & Commercial Services for Asia Pacific, “Rethinking Thai Design Culture” with Ho Ren Yung, Banyan Tree’s Senior Vice President of Brand & Commercial, and the “Challenges of Being a Hotel Owner” with Proudputh Liptapanlop, Executive Director of Proud Real Estate. Delegates were provided with an update on Thai hotel transactions and financing by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group and an analysis of the competitiveness of the Thai hotel industry by STR Global, before Greenview founder Eric Ricaurte revealed his vision for the “Hotel of the Future”.

The major challenge that demands attention, according to C9’s Bill Barnett is people, or the lack of them wanting to return the hospitality industry post Covid when over 1.45 million tourism jobs were lost. “Where’s our pipeline of people? This is what will create success for the next generation. Thais no longer want to work in hotels so our mission must be how can we innovate products and bring the best and brightest people back to the industry. We have to pay higher wages. Now is the time for Thailand’s hotels to change,” said Mr Barnett.

The point was reiterated by Proudputh Liptapanlop, Executive Director, Proud Real Estate PLC who said that Covid was a real wake-up call for owners about how to take care of their people.

Ms. Wallapa Traisorat, CEO & President of AWC, argued that product and brand integration was the key innovation for the future. “For us it is all about creating happiness,” she said. “We are all searching for how we can be fulfilled and I believe we need to look into partnerships with brands to create unique projects that are integrated with the destination and bring local communities into the hotel experience. It should be an integrated customer journey.”

For Liz Perkins, Vice President of Revenue Management & Commercial Services for Hilton APAC, the most important thing is to create the right balance between technology and people. “The key is to successfully merge physical and digital to create seamless travel. During Covid we invested in technology. For example, we introduced digital keys for a fast track check-in. Customers can still go to reception but what we are doing differently is giving customers choice.”

“For me innovation comes from constraints,” added Ho Ren Yung, Senior Vice President – Brand and Commercial, Banyan Tree Group. “We created the pool villa concept as we were not on the beach 30 years ago. Now we are introducing a product with no walls or doors to bring nature in.”

For more information, please visit www.thailandtourismforum.com

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Thailand Hospitality Leaders Sign Pledge at Thailand Tourism Forum

 500 288 wttc2
By:

Thailand Hospitality Leaders Sign Pledge at Thailand Tourism ForumBangkok, Thailand, March 3, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / Tourism leaders call for a full opening up of the country as concerns emerge that Thailand is losing the initiative to regional competitors and will not achieve 10 million arrivals in 2022. More than 500 delegates, including many of Thai tourism and hospitality’s most senior figures, came together at the 11th Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF 2022) on 1st March 2022, with the aim of charting a strong and sustainable path out of the global pandemic.

• Support Thailand hospitality and visit Thailand during the Visit Thailand Year 2022 – Amazing Chapters

TTF 2022, Thailand’s largest annual tourism and hospitality event, taking place as the industry grapples with an unprecedented period of crisis, opportunity, threat and disruption, ran under the theme #ThaiTourismUnited and kicked off with the Thailand Tourism Leadership Summit, which saw influential CEOs set out their joint vision for the future and jointly sign the Thailand Tourism Pledge.

Together, these leaders committed to forging a new strategic direction for Thailand, including placing tourism at the forefront of the national economy, putting the service sector back to work, achieving sustainable growth, and making international visitors feel safe and secure. The Thailand Tourism Pledge will lay the foundations upon which Thai tourism can be rebuilt from the ground up, following the devastation of the global pandemic.

Key to the discussion and among the excitement of the opportunity to create a better tourism future for Thailand, was a clear call by all leaders that it was time the country fully opened up.

Ms. Proudputh Liptapanlop, Executive Director of Proud Group, which owns numerous tourism assets including two InterContinental branded hotels in Hua Hin and Phuket, said: “In Thailand we need to open up. We need everyone to understand that we need to open up the country for their good and for the benefit of the country.”

Mr. Bill Heinecke, Chairman/Founder Minor International, added: “If we don’t open up we can’t be competitive. Currently the rules are just too complicated. We are not even 10% of where we were pre-Covid and Thailand will not reach its target of 10 million arrivals in 2022. We are falling behind. We are not even keeping up with our neighbours.”

“There’s no choice anymore,” commented Marisa Sukosol, President of Thailand Hotels Association. “Thailand must open up and stop Test & Go. In fact, it must Let It Go! We need to move our mentality from a pandemic to an endemic.”
(from left) Bill Heinecke, Chairman/Founder Minor International; Proudputh Liptapanlop, Executive Director, Proud Group; Marisa Sukosol, President of the Thailand Hotel Association.

TTF 2022 kicked off with a series of addresses, debates and discussions to help attendees devise strategies to survive and thrive in the post-pandemic era. Jesper Palmqvist, STR’s Area Director for Asia Pacific, presented the latest critical data, while Clarence Tan of Hilton and Charles Blocker, CEO of IC Partners, discussed “Why Hotel Operators Must Change”, Jakkrapong Chinkrathok, CEO & founder of Find Folk, focused on environmental issues with his “Green Thailand” session, and Wimintra Raj, Editor-in-Chief at Hotel Intel, went “Behind the Mask” to discuss new travel experiences. Other hot topics on the quickfire agenda included cryptocurrencies, hybrid spaces, hotel transactions and more.

• Support Thailand hospitality and visit Thailand during the Visit Thailand Year 2022 – Amazing Chapters

Mr. Bill Barnett, Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks, concluded: “The reason we are here in-person is that this is where it starts. Travelling again starts today. We have to open the country and be competitive with Vietnam and the Maldives and put our service sector back to work.”

TTF 2022 was hosted in compliance with all necessary health and safety regulations. The host venue, Conrad Bangkok, is SHA+ certified and all attendees will be required show proof of two vaccinations.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Thai Hotel Owners and CEOs Unite to Chart Future of Thai Tourism

 500 297 wttc2
By:

Bangkok, Thailand, March 23, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / More than 400 tourism leaders and industry gurus gathered in Bangkok today – in a safe and socially-distanced format – for the 10 th annual edition of the Thailand Tourism Forum 2021 (TTF), Thailand’s premier travel, tourism and hospitality powwow. Hosted at Conrad Hotel Bangkok on Monday 22 nd March 2021, and organised by C9 Hotelworks hospitality…

Source

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News