BANGKOK, 22 March 208: – The Tourism Authority of Thailand marked its 58th anniversary of its founding with traditional Thai ceremonies earlier this week.
TAT reached its 58th birthday, Monday 19 March, and ceremonies were led by TAT board chairman, Kalin Sarasin and TAT governor, Yuthasak Supasorn.
The ceremonies included a Buddhist monk blessing ritual at the city’s Cham Devi Shrine, which houses a statue of Chao Mae Cham Devi and also a ceremony to pay respects to the bronze statue of Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat, who established the TAT in 1960.
In the afternoon, a ceremony was held to present Buddha images to former TAT governors as a blessing gesture and in recognition of their valued contribution to tourism. Awards were given to senior staff for their long-service to the government agency.
When it was formed in 1960 it was known as the Tourism Organisation of Thailand under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office and later, 4 May 1979, it was upgraded to become the Tourism Authority of Thailand. It moved from the PM’s office to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in 2003, when the ministry was formed.
Last year, the TAT had an operational budget of THB 7,094.8 million.
