Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) conducted India Luxury Virtual Connect (ILVC), which was designed exclusively for leading travel partners across key metro cities in India to touch base with the Thai private sector while maintaining social distance from their respective homes. The first ever India Luxury Virtual Connect (ILVC) was conducted on July 15 -16, 2020, witnessed participation from around 28 Thai luxury sellers along with close to 130 travel agents across South West India and 130 agents from North East cities of India
ILVC was conceptualized and executed by BRANDit, the official representative firm of TAT’s Mumbai office, led by Lubaina Sheerazi. The objective of ILVC was to introduce brand new products to cater to the luxury segment in India and further to share situation update in Thailand for the Indian buyers to understand the changing landscape of tourism. Basis industry predictions, TAT is presently concentrating its outreach measures on the luxury segment as the Indian elites are expected to make the first travel movements post complete unlocking of restrictions in India.
ILVC followed round-robin setup wherein the buyers and sellers followed a pre-fixed meeting schedule and interacted and shared information relevant to the product. They also got a chance to download brochures, fact sheets and exchange business cards from the virtual resources centre. The daylong event ‘ILVC’ marked as the commencement of a new remarkable era in the travel trade industry through which the world of travel can be connected by only few clicks.
Cholada Siddhivarn, Director, TAT Mumbai, said, “This year has been extremely challenging for all of us in the travel industry and at TAT, we are working each day to come up with creative solutions for our business requirements. We are extremely delighted to have introduced a platform like ILVC to the Indian market and help the Thai private sector and reach out to buyers across the country and discuss the future of travel in the post unlocking period. We are certain that this networking will help us drive arrivals to Thailand as soon as international travel is permitted.”
Vachriachai Sirisumpan, Director, TAT New Delhi, added, “Through it is still not clear when the international tourists from India will be able to travel to Thailand but it is important for us to stay connected with our partners. TAT India Offices would like to connect our Thai hospitality and travel businesses with travel agents in India and use this platform to update the products and services as well as all safety and health measures be taken in order to ensure and boost confidence of tourists. Luxury travel segment is a very important market for Post-Covid travel period which Thailand can ensure to meet the wish list of all travellers for luxury experiences and accommodation also gastronomy, arts and crafts, nature and beaches.”
Thailand was ranked second best in the world for ongoing COVID-19 recovery owing to which it has led to the resumption of the country’s daily activities, including domestic tourism. The Royal Thai Government has declared the relaxation of public places such as malls, restaurants and attractions with heightened safety measures and health regulations. Additionally, domestic flights are functional and leading hospitality brands are introducing safer precautions for the health and safety of each guest as well as employee. Owing to all of these developments, TAT is certain that soon international borders will be reopened to welcome visitors across the world and tourism will emerge again with the guidelines of ‘new normal’
