To reinforce the concept of a welcoming culture, The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) officially launched the ‘Thais Always Care’ campaign earlier this month in collaboration with the Tourist Police and private companies like Central Pattana and Grab Thailand. Here’s what that means for visitors.
CARE – to make tourists feel safe and welcome
Thailand demonstrates that the country is ready to welcome holidaymakers with CARE. Representing the kingdom’s renowned hospitality, CARE is an online communication campaign designed to provide seamless travel experiences and ensure tourists feel safe and welcome.
“The ‘Thais Always Care’ campaign is an open communication between Thais and foreigners – especially the Chinese, which are key in Thailand’s tourism industry,” said TAT’s Governor Ms Thapanee Kiatphaibool. She added that the TAT wanted to share Thailand’s ongoing efforts to raise safety standards in the travel sector and strengthen Thailand’s image of a desirable tourist destination with charm.
CARE stands for compassion, assistance, relief, and elevation. Compassion epitomises Thai people’s generosity. Assistance refers to Thais being good hosts, ready to help tourists in need. Relief implies Thailand is a place for tourists to relax and have pleasant experiences, and elevation highlights the kingdom’s ongoing efforts to raise tourism and safety standards.
The Tourist Police uses technology
“The Tourist Police is poised to step up safety and security measures to help foreign tourists, e.g., with a Tourist Police mobile truck to facilitate communication and keep the Thai Tourist Police Bureau up to date,” said Somchai Theerapatrpaisan, Bureau Colonel and Deputy Commander of the General Staff Division at the Tourist Police Bureau.
The Bureau Colonel noted that other technology-related assistance included the ‘POLICE I LERT U’ application, available in Chinese, English, Russian, Korean, Japanese, German, French, and Arab. Around the clock, people can get help from the emergency centre 1155 via the app.
The Thai Tourist Police Bureau has joined forces with private companies like Central Pattana (CPN), the global real estate business and developer of Central shopping malls. “Set to become a
comprehensive tourist hub, we have strengthened safety measures with CCTV cameras, strict inspection of visitors and vehicles, plus bag checking at entrances across the whole department store,” said Mr Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Executive Vice President Marketing at CPN. He added that security guards have been trained consistently to handle emergencies and unprecedented incidents.
Grab Thailand also places great emphasis on safety. Grab Thailand’s Country Head, Mr Worachat Luxkanalode said, “Safety is our top priority. To improve confidence and enhance all steps for passengers, Grab has continuously developed technology. We use AI-powered Facial Authentication and train our people online to drive safely.”
He also said that Grab monitored each trip in real-time using GPS to track vehicles and provided a safety centre feature to share the real-time location and offer assistance in emergencies. “We hope these features will strengthen travellers’ confidence and create impressive travel experiences in Thailand,” Mr Worachat added.
All these KOLs (key opinion leaders) will help make the ‘Thais Always Care’ campaign a success, enhancing Thailand’s positive image as a safe tourism destination with a welcoming Thai culture. The campaign targeting both local and foreign tourists, and Chinese travellers in particular, is expected to garner 100 million impressions with regard to safety in Thailand.
