Wednesday, August 14, 2024 The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) has advocated for the creation of a unified service framework to simplify business processes for international entities and boost the digitally-driven tourism sector in Thailand. This proposal intends to consolidate data sharing across different governmental bodies to improve business efficiency. The envisioned unified service would operate as a platform-as-a-service through a centralized data hub, linking all pertinent government agencies.
This integration is anticipated to propel the growth of travel-related products and services within the nation. Nuttapon highlighted that the cost of living for foreigners in Thailand stands at roughly US$1,000 per month, which is considerably lower than the US$3,000 monthly average in Europe. Additionally, Thailand boasts an 88% individual Internet penetration rate, with household connectivity at 43.
7%. The country is globally ranked 11th in terms of home internet speed and holds the second position within ASEAN. Digital Tourism Initiatives Amid these favorable conditions, foreign entrepreneurs and investors have expressed concerns over business operational challenges.
Nuttapon underscored the necessity for a platform-as-a-service that aligns with Thailand’s digital tourism strategies, promoting interagency cooperation to amalgamate their application programming interfaces (APIs) into the centralized data portal. This cooperative effort involves key stakeholders such as the Customs Department, Immigration Bureau, Revenue Department, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry, Board of Investment (BoI), and the Thai Bankers’ Association. The Digital Government Development Agency is proposed to spearhead the development efforts.
In 2022, DEPA, in partnership with Travizgo Technology Co, launched ThailandCONNEX, an expansive digital tourism application platform. In its debut year, ThailandCONNEX engaged over 108,000 business operators and featured upwards of 201,000 travel-related offerings, potentially generating an economic impact of more than 12 billion baht. ThailandCONNEX serves as a central intermediary in a business-to-business wholesale model for Thai tourism stakeholders.
It provides a platform for members to display and distribute their products and services through both local and international online travel agencies. Additionally, it includes features like a digital tourism data repository and digital tokens for users. The platform’s initiatives also encompass various marketing campaigns that facilitate idea sharing among top-level public and private sector executives, tourism operators, and influencers.
DEPA continues to encourage tourism industry entrepreneurs to engage with the ThailandCONNEX platform and participate in digital tourism business matching events. These digital initiatives aim to improve digital literacy among Thai tourism operators and highlight innovative digital technologies and solutions from travel tech companies through events like the Digital Tourism Fair and Digital Tourism Unboxed..
