Chiang Mai is counting down to the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2018 (ATF), to be held in the northern Thailand city from January 22-26. ATF rotates between ASEAN member nations and comprises high-level public and private sector meetings.
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand said, “Chiang Mai’s travel trade continues to expand its product offering, diversifying recently into adrenaline-based adventure tourism and gastronomy tourism.”
ATF Facts at a Glance
• Around 47% of ATF buyers come from Europe, 15% from the Asia Pacific, 9% from the Americas, 4% from Oceania, and 3% from the Middle East.
• At the ATF 2017 in Singapore, there were 660 exhibitors, 13,000 scheduled buyer-seller appointments, and over 2,500 attendees.
• In 2017, 36% of exhibitors were accommodation businesses, 25% travel agents or tour operators, 17% NTOs or convention and visitor bureaus, 8.5% travel technology firms, and 3% were in the transport sector.
• ATF in Chiang Mai 2018 will be the 37th incarnation of the show and the sixth time it has been held in Thailand.
• The theme for 2018 will be “ASEAN – Sustainable Connectivity, Boundless Prosperity.”
• ASEAN is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary with a Visit ASEAN@50 Golden Celebration campaign that aims to raise international tourism arrivals to the region from 109 million in 2015 to 121 million by year end 2017.
(TC)
