“ทำตลาดเชิงรุก บุกตลาดกับ ททท.”

MARKETING TO THE AMERICAN CONSUMERPeggy Peterka

Tourism Authority of Thailand

Los Angeles

Friday, 17 June 2011

LET’S LOOK AT THE NUMBERS…

Population 310 Million

# of Passports 114 MillionThat’s less than 37% of the total population

# Overseas pax 2009 30 MillionAsia gets less than 20% (600,000 pax) or 2% of the entire population


STILL LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS…

Average Income of American Family 2005 $ 46,000 per year

Average Household Income of thoseTraveling Overseas $109,000 per year

Approximately 16% of the US population has a household income of $109,000 or over.

Statistics from Intl Trade Administration, Office of Travel

and Tourism Industries , and Wikipedia


WHY DO AMERICANS TRAVEL

#1 reason:

Seeking authentic experiences in new destinations


EMERGING TRAVEL TRENDS….

#1 trend:Family and Multi-Generational Travel


FACTORS CONSIDERED….

#1 The Destination

Is it Safe?Is there Value for $ Spent?Will I learn something?Will I enrich my life by going?


WHAT ARE THE TOP 10 MOST INFLUENTIAL

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

FOR TRAVEL DECISIONS?


1. Travel Consultants/Retail Agents 84.5%2. Friends and Family 74.4%3. Travel Publications 34.3%4. Travel Websites 28.0%5. Travel Programs on TV 15.0%6. Direct Mail Travel Offers 10.1%7. Email Travel Offers 10.6%8. Lifestyle Publications 9.7%9. Social Networking Sites 7.7%10. Print Advertisements 3.4%


WHO IS TRAVELING?

Boomers (Age group 46-65) This is a huge market--78 million, and

growing by 10,000 per day in 2011.

These people have the time, money and thirst for TRAVEL.


Generation X and Y (age group 25-55)

1. These people are mostly busy working and building families and careers.

2. They have limited time (max. 2 weeks per year) and limited money (got that mortgage, saving for college for the children, etc.) to travel.

3. When they do travel, they want value for $ spent, they want unique and authentic experiences.


MORE REASONS TO TRAVEL….

Life enrichmentEducationVisit Family and Friends + have a vacationSpecial Interest: Golf, Medical, HoneymoonVoluntourism – Give Back to Society


LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THOSE REASONS TO TRAVEL…..

Visit Family and Friends + have a vacation

We call this, “Visit Thailand on Your Way”

The Asian population is huge in the US. Most of them want to go “home” to visit friends and relatives. We suggest they also have a vacation in Thailand on their way to their home country.


We reach this market by:

• Joint promotions with other Asian NTO’s and Airlines• Joint promotions with US Wholesalers who

specialize in the Asian ethnic markets with advertising in Asian papers and tv

• Participation in trade fairs and cultural festivals with special packages to other Asian destinations with stopovers or add-ons to Thailand


Voluntourism – Give back to societyEcological – Leave a smaller footprint

Did you know that 98% of people polled consider themselves to be ecology-minded. They want to travel and see the world, but not leave a big footprint that might harm the natural surroundings for future visitors.

If your product is ecological or supports volunteering— talk about it in your marketing messages. It is Important!


HONEYMOON & WEDDING The Honeymoon and Wedding market is huge, and

somewhat resistant to economical problems.

This is a quality market. It is a once in a lifetime trip and they want what they want regardless (to a certain degree) of cost.

To get to this market, we plan to:

•Advertise in bridal websites such as The Knot, Travel Concierge and Bridal Guide.com•Online niche training for Weddings and honeymoons•Participate in consumer bridal shows in L.A. and Seattle


GOLF• Yes, there are plenty of wonderful golf courses in America,

BUT the amazing courses in Thailand, coupled with the amazing Thai Hospitality on the golf courses, may just give that potential traveler the extra push he needs to choose Thailand!

• Or it may give that non-golfer the final enticement to their traveling partner, who is an avid golfer to choose Thailand!

• Either way, they end up in Thailand and again, this is a quality market.


This is a group that is particularly reactive to suggestions from Golf Pros or Friends and Family, so our Target to get to this market is….

• Participation at Conferences and Shows for Golfers such as IAGTO and PGA meetings

• Encourage third party accounts in golf media

• Work with US Tour Operators to add some golfing to their packages

• Co-op with agents that specialize in Golf travel


Medical Tourism

Health and Wellness has always been a good market for Thailand….but the exorbitant cost of healthcare in the US is now making Thailand a good choice for more serious medical treatments too.

A great deal of press has been given to Thailand’s top-quality medical facilities and practitioners.


To penetrate this quality market, TAT-LA will

• Have a booth at the World Medical Tourism Conference

• Joint advertisements with Medical Facilitators in health magazines, newspapers and on-line

• Make presentations with Thai Doctors in the US to educate consumers on the caliber and cost of medical treatment available in Thailand


SPECIAL INTEREST: GOLF, MEDICAL, HONEYMOON

These are all important niche markets, that require very specific marketing.

If you want to promote to any of these specific markets, let me know. I will be happy to let you know what we are doing and advise if there are areas where you might join us.


SO, WHAT ARE YOU SELLING?


Are you selling necessary creature comforts? Such as Housing, Transportation, Healthcare?

NO


YOU ARE SELLING MEMORIES!

Unique and authentic experiences that will supply us with wonderful memories for the rest of our lives.


WHAT DOES THAILAND OFFER?

Value for $$$ spent

This is incredibly important…Yes it is expensive to GET to Thailand BUT once they are here, the value for $$$ spent is the best travel bargain available today!

For instance, you can have a 10 day trip to Thailand from the US for about the same overall price as a comparable trip to Hawaii!


Unimaginable natural beauty


Inspiring Temples and Gardens


Accommodations beyond our wildest fantasy.


My personal favorite -- ELEPHANTS


BUT, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE TO OFFER IS…

YOU, your amazing Thai Hospitality!

This is what seals in that memory that we will carry with us and joyfully share with friends for the rest of our lives!


IS PRICE IMPORTANT?

Yes, of course, travelers--now more than ever--want good value for the $ spent.

But, they are willing to pay a reasonable amount to get the EXPERIENCE they want.

Promote your product on the EXPERIENCE it will provide.

Promote your product on the AUTHENTICITY of it.


ANY MARKETING EFFORTS HELP,

But, you want to get to the people that will be interested in your product.

You want to spend your marketing $$ in a manner that provides the best ROI.

With a limited marketing budget, the shotgun approachmay not be the best. You have to target your messages.


TAT-LA OPPORTUNITIES…We have our specialist program called “Golden Agents” with over 4000 members.


Send us information about your product, or any specials you have for our Golden Agents to sell to their clients.

Also send us any special discounts you may offer to our Golden Agents if they

Visit the website at

www.travelagentacademy.com


MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTERSend us any news/specials about

your product. We will try to get it in the next e-newsletter, space permitting.

Remember, to be effective, we need lots of lead time to promote any specials or discounts you may offer.


SALES PLANNER

We print a special Sales Planner each year in the fall. You can promote your product in that Sales Planner which goes to travel agents, media and consumers. Of course, for this there is a cost, But even a small ad gets exposure for you to people that are definitely interested in travel.


DESTINATION GUIDE

This will be published in October of this year. You can put in a small ad here and be certain you are reaching those interested in traveling, especially to Thailand.


GLOBAL TRAVELERSUPPLEMENT

This was printed earlier this year.

Let me know if you would like to put in an ad for your product if we print another version in 2012.


TRADE OR CONSUMER SHOWS

If you would like to join us for any of the trade or consumer shows where we exhibit, just send me an email and I will tell you what is coming up. We’d love to have you join us!


TRADE/CONSUMER SHOWS WITH TAT-LA

ASTA Retail Travel Show – Las Vegas, SeptemberLuxury Travel Expo – Las Vegas, DecemberLA Adventure Show – Los Angeles, January 2012LA Times Show – Los Angeles, January 2012


http://www.asta.org/















QUESTIONS????


THANK YOU

I am in the Los Angeles Office. Email me at

[email protected] you have any questions or want to give us any information that we can pass along on your behalf.


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