Thailand

There were 18,310,000 internet users in Thailand (representing 27.4% of the population) in June 2011, according to Internet World Stats. This represented 2.0% of the Asian population. (Internet World Stats, August 2011)

Online travel market

Travel planning

Thailand's first competition for medical-tourism bloggers, www.MedBlogContest.com, provided one dozen international finalists with an opportunity to witness firsthand the quality of treatments and procedures available for foreign nationals.

Chosen from among hundreds of applicants from Southeast Asia and around the world, twelve finalists in the Thailand Medical Tourism Blog Contest spent a week observing top-rated medical facilities in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket and Ko Samui. Upon the conclusion of their research visits, the finalists returned to their home countries to relate their experiences on their medical tourism blogs.

A panel of judges chosen by the Tourism Authority of Thailand monitored the content and readership of the blogs, selecting two individuals to share in nearly $20,000 US in cash and prizes. (Tourism Authority of Thailand Newsletter, March 2011)

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) introduced the "Amazing Thailand" mobile application available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and popular devices; such as, iPad and iPod Touch. This emphasizes the success of promoting tourism through online marketing  to raise the organisation's profile in the digital world, and at the same time revealing its digital marketing strategy in the year 2011.

At present, "Amazing Thailand" has more than 120,000 fans on its Facebook fan page which is ranked one of the top 3 tourism promotion organizations of the world and Twitter @ThailandFanClub for foreign tourists and @Go2Thailand for Thai travellers.

Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, Governor of TAT said that the "Amazing Thailand" mobile application is a way to increase a channel to promote Thailand's tourism to more than 300 million potential target users worldwide. Moreover, this can make the most of the information in the TAT website, increase tourist databases, fans and followers in social media, and support new marketing campaigns through TAT mobile applications in the future.

The three highlights of the "Amazing Thailand" mobile application are :

1. Various Contents - there are more than 10,000 pieces of information about tourism in Thailand mainly on the 'Destination' and 'Events' menus.

2. Location-Based Search - searching for the destination on a mobile map by using GPS technology in the smart phone which tourists can search for nearby tourist attractions and the search results can be displayed on Google map. Moreover there is a 'Search' menu for tourists to search by using a keyword.

3. User Experience - tourists can share their travel experiences on mobile phones via social networks i.e. Facebook and Twitter or by e-mail.

(PRNewswire - United Business Media, December 2010)