OVER 400 INDIAN COUPLES DECIDE TO WED IN THAILAND DURING GREEN SEASON

Photo from: www.weddingthemes.net

Bangkok, July 14, 2010 — The TAT Mumbai office together with Indian wedding organizer, Red Events India Pvt Ltd, have undertaken the mammoth task of arranging for over 400 Indian couples to get married in Thailand during the current Green Season.

The first group of weddings took place at the JW Marriott Phuket during June 21 – 25, 2010, while the second group will take place at the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok during July 15 – 20, 2010. The weddings are expected to generate more than Bt1 billion in earnings for the local economy.

Weddings and honeymoons are part of the TAT’s global marketing campaign to stress niche market tourism. In recent years, Thailand is becoming increasingly popular among Indian wedding couples and honeymooners as well as for the shooting of movies and advertising clips. There is also a strong flow of VFR (visiting friends and relatives) traffic and students.

Many Indian couples choose Thailand because they wish to tie the knot in a land renowned for its sense of grace and style, following customs and ceremonies with rich roots in Buddhist culture. The secluded, all-inclusive resorts are perfect for honeymoons.

Indian wedding planners — either independent or affiliated with tourist hotels and resorts — offer highly personalised services in choosing and arranging the most appropriate activities and events for each client’s taste and budget; such as, traditional Thai or other cultural wedding costumes and ceremonies, or more contemporary, custom-designed events.

TAT presently has two offices in India, in the political capital of New Delhi and the commercial capital of Mumbai. It plans to expand marketing into new secondary cities like Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Pune, etc.

India is Thailand’s biggest South Asian source market, and one of its fastest growing. In 2007, Indian visitor arrivals totalled 536,356, up 16.65 per cent over 2006, crossing the half-million mark for the first time.

In 2009, the number of Indian visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 614,562, a 14.45 per cent increase over 2008. If this rate of growth continues, TAT projects Indian arrivals will cross the one-million mark by 2013.

Indian citizens can obtain visa-on-arrival at all international airports in Thailand and stay for up to 15 days.

There has been rapid growth in aviation access. Currently, there are 125 direct weekly services between Bangkok and major Indian cities including Delhi (41), Kolkata (24), Mumbai (40), Bangalore (7), Hyderabad (4), Madras/Chennai (7) and Bagdogra (2) by Thai Airways International, Indian Airlines, Air India, Cathay Pacific Airways, Royal Bhutan Airlines, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, and Air India Express.

Contact information:
International Public Relations Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48
Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419
E-mail: prdiv3@tat.or.th
Web site: www.tatnews.org