Tourists from India and Asean country destinations that are within three- to four-hour flights from Thailand have been chosen for a mega shopping campaign from March 1 to May 31.
This is the second year this is being held; it was hugely successful last year.
At a press conference in Bangkok, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, stated that Indian tourists loved shopping, and she was sure that the 2025 Shopping Campaign would interest tourists from big and small cities of our country.
Thanks to increased flight connections and visa-free conditions, Indian tourist numbers have reached a record 2.3 million this year.
“We aim at getting 2.5 million Indian tourists this year” the TAT governor told this writer, adding, “There are 3.4 million seats available on flights from India to Thailand, so this is very achievable. That’s why this shopping campaign will be an added attraction for them, especially as it is set during the holiday season in India.”
Large discounts are being offered in malls, restaurants, retail outlets and supermarkets, even airlines (Air Asia).
All this is part of the soft power focus of the Thai government. Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra spoke a lot about it at the ITB Berlin earlier this month.
In order to understand Thailand’s policy on soft power in the food sector, especially its globalisation, the international media were recently introduced to Michelin Star chefs of the country, including chef Chumpol Jaengprai, the UN’s first sustainable food ambassador, and chef ‘Jay Fai’, the only street food Michelin star awardee in the world whose crab omelette is globally renowned.
With nearly 17,478 Thai restaurants in the world and Thai food exports reaching as high as 1.6 trillion baht, Thailand aims to be the “kitchen of the world”.
That’s why many Thai restaurants have joined the 2025 Shopping Campaign in order to popularise their cuisine.
Over the course of the next three months, the 2025 Shopping Campaign offers Indian tourists shopping and dining privileges valued between 500 and 3,000 baht. Visitors can participate by scanning a QR code upon arrival in Thailand or visiting aseanindiashoppers.com for more details.
Among the malls included in the Shopping Campaign are the reasonably priced Big C mall group and the new, upmarket One Bangkok. Both these malls expressed their deep interest in the Indian market.
The Big C Super Centre, in the heart of the Ratchaprasong shopping district of Bangkok, recently created a gigantic statue of Shiva on the seventh floor of their mall, after which they have coined a new slogan Eat, Shop, Pray. Ashwin Techajareonvikul, from the owning family of the mall, told this writer that they were particularly targeting Indian tourists, and he was sure that the Shiva statue would increase their numbers.
Indian tourists might be interested to know that other popular malls in the shopping district, who are also part of the 2025 Shopping Campaign, have statues of Indian gods like Ganesh, Vishnu, Indra, Lakshmi and, of course, Brahma for the Erawan shrine is a major tourist attraction. The entire Ratchaprasong shopping district is worth visiting.
Among the other malls in the 2025 Shopping Campaign, are the Mall Group, the Gaysorn Village, King Power International and the large Central Group, including the Central Department Store Group and Central Food Retail, who all said they would be focusing on Indian shoppers.
This, indeed, seems the time to shop till they drop for Indian tourists. What are they waiting for?
For details regarding the discounts, redemptions and privileges of the 2025 Shopping Campaign, check aseanindiashoppers.com.
