The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has selected nine couples from nine different overseas markets to celebrate their wedding ceremonies at romantic Thai destinations this month under a campaign called “Thailand Wedding Destiny”, which is being held until Sunday.

Tanes Petsuwan, TAT deputy governor for international markets (Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas), said that on average, foreign couples who celebrate their weddings here spent between Bt5 million and Bt12 million, the amounts varying according to the number of guests.

Brides and bridegrooms from mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Britain, France, the Czech Republic, Australia, the United States and Brazil are scheduled to tie the knot in four of Thailand’s romantic locations – Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi and Sukhothai. The ceremonies will be held in both traditional Thai and Western styles, depending on the locality.

The “Thailand Wedding Destiny” campaign was launched to show off this country’s rich potential and to bolster its image as a world-class marriage destination. It will also help Thai wedding organisers shine in the global market.

Last year’s Destination Wedding Planners Congress named Thailand as No 1 in the Asian market, No 3 in the Australia and New Zealand market, and No 6 in the European market. In the Middle East, Thailand was ranked as the third most popular emerging wedding destination. For Africa, Thailand is the No 1 emerging destination.

Baidu Access, a business consultancy specialising in China, has predicted that more than 940,000 international tourists will travel to Thailand during Valentine’s month, a 2-per-cent drop from February last year.

Of the predicted number, 280,000 will be Chinese tourists, representing 30 per cent of total arrivals. Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday.

The company also forecast that foreign tourists would spend Bt45 billion this month. Each tourist will spend Bt46,960 per trip.

(Source:The Nation,Thailand)