Perception of International Tourists on Thailand Tourism Brand Under The "AMAZING THAILAND" Campaign

Abstract

         The objective of this study was to find out the perception of brand identity designed for tourism promotion in Thailand’s Tourism Marketing Plan for 2009 under the “Amazing Thailand” campaign highlighting the theme of Seven Wonders of Amazing Thailand. The research methodology involved both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The data was collected from four geographic regions of travel originating countries including Asia, America, Europe, and Oceania. Totally 420 samples of international tourists from the countries in the above-defined regions were covered as questionnaire respondents for the opinion survey. The qualitative research was the in-depth interview with international tourists to obtain information for performing Content Analysis and for use as a background to develop the questionnaire to serve the purpose of the present study. The quantitative research was a questionnaire survey to collect data for the validity test of the study concept to assure its clarity and generalization. The result revealed that the memory of international tourists, the meanings of nation brand for visit to Thailand could be expressed in the dimensions of culture and event, value for money, attractions, quality of services and people, and geographic location. From the investigation on the awareness of the target international tourists of the nation brand identity for Thailand’ tourism promotion under the Seven Wonders of Amazing Thailand campaign, it was found that the awareness was clear for the following themes: Nature: The Beauty of Natural Wonders, Beaches: Sun Surf and Serenity, Treasures: Land of Heritage and History, and Thainess: The World’s Friendliness Culture; while quite vague for the following themes: Health & Wellness: The Beauty of Wellness and Well-being, Trends: Your Senses with Unique Trends, and Festivities: The Land of Year-Round Festivities. From the cross-sectional analysis of various target groups, the international tourists from European and American countries demonstrated to have a clearer awareness of sun, surf, and serenity element than those from Asian countries and Oceania. The present study also found that certain elements of the nation brand identity had effect on international tourists’ satisfaction, which included authenticity, accessibility, and quality of service; and that some elements could be important determinants of the brand loyalty giving rise to repeat visits to Thailand such as quality of shopping facilities, quality of accommodation facilities, accessibility, and different gastronomy.