Huge tour discounts Asean+3 fair
May 25, 2009 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under Outbound
Travel agency association hosts fair to focus on Asean plus three travel experiences.
Asean+3 Travel Fair exhibitors can get 30 to 40% discount if they present Asean-region specific tours at a four-day mini fair that gets underway this weekend. About 50,000 visitors are expected, while there will be 140 booths selling outbound travel products.
Asean+3 Travel Fair runs from 28 to 31 May at Zone C of the upper floor of Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. The fair is open from 1000 to 2000. Organised by the Thai Travel Agents Association in cooperation with Krungthai Card and Thai-Amadeus Southeast Asia, the event is part of a wider programme to improve Asean’s tourism brand.
Various tours will be available that focus on the 10-country region: Laos; Vietnam; Cambodia; Myanmar; Malaysia; Brunei; Singapore; Indonesia and the Philippines. The fair also includes three other Asean partners: Japan; Korea, and Greater China (Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong).
Tour bargains, identified by tour operators fielding products at the show, include a 4D/3N to Beijing at Bt13,900, down from Bt16,000. A 3D/2N programme to Hong Kong sells at Bt9,999 and Bt20,500 for a 3D/2N tour to Korea. A Tokyo tour sells at Bt28,900, down from Bt36,000. Tours are valid from 15 June to 30 September.
TTAA will monitor exhibitors selling these packages to control quality and liability. Sellers are also free to sell their own products.
“This is the first time we focused on a niche market, but we want to support our members that have suffered losses due to political tension, airport closures and more recently, Swine Flu, said TTAA’s president, Charoen Wangananont. “The fourth quarter should see a turn-around but we have to admit we do not know what will happen.”
As the scope is smaller, the show will not have on-stage entertainment to attract consumers.
KTC Leisure Marketing Department’s senior executive vice president, Staporn Sirisinha, said: “We are supporting this event with a 0% merchant fee for travel exhibitors and we have prepared a Bt2.1 million budget for incentives. Fair visitors who purchase over Bt50,000 through a KTC card will get a gift.”
Thai-Amadeus Southeast Asia Commercial Department’s director, Somkiat Rungthaveephon, added: “When compare the first quarter with the year before, there was a 15% decrease in passenger volume. We want to stimulate recovery. For the fair, exhibitors can use the Amadeus system to complete booking transactions. Customers can get immediate seat confirmation.”