Committed to the development of Thailand’s digital tourism industry, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, in partnership with the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa) and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, alongside key stakeholders from both public and private sectors, recently organized a two-day event. This event aimed to serve as a meeting ground where budding Thai startups in the tourism sector and local business owners could explore potential collaborations to enhance traveller experience, create more value, and boost revenue.
The Honorable Digital Economy and Society Minister, Prasert Chantararuangthong, in his remarks during the opening ceremony shared that the hosting of this event ties in with his Ministry’s initiative to augment Thailand’s leadership position in the tourism industry. By capitalizing wisely on technological advancements and integrating these into the country’s tourism enterprises, he believes there will be incentives for tourists to lengthen their stay or diversify their experiences within Thailand. Moreover, technology presents a golden opportunity to businesses hungry for innovation and looking to add more value to their products and services. This, while also optimizing efficiency and productivity.
Mr. Prasert emphasized that the revolutionizing impact of tech innovation would attract recent foreign graduates and digital nomads to consider Thailand as their next occupational destination. The government is looking at addressing workforce shortages in specialized fields, chiefly, science, technology, engineering, and maths through this influx. Further, Mr. Prasert shed some light on the government’s agenda for these potential workers; digital nomads and fresh graduates from the globe’s top-ranked 600 universities, who may travel to Thailand for exploration or job hunting will receive Global Digital Talent Visas. This specific visa will permit them to live in Thailand for up to 90 days before they obtain their work permit from respective employers.
Presently, the Ministry is seeking options to extend this 90-day stay to a year and will be addressing the matter further with the Interior Minister and other related partners soon.
Complimenting the event through demonstration booths, workshops, and panel discussions were experts providing insights for entrepreneurs on business development strategies. As guided by Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, the President, and CEO of Depa, attendees gained exposure to two new revolutionary technologies relevant to the tourism industry: Generative AI and Web 3.0.
The event is part of Depa’s ThailandCONNEX initiative, which was launched in February. Depa partnered with Thai startups to establish an integrated platform where businesses serving the tourism industry across the nation could harmonize their offerings and reduce dependence on foreign platforms.
According to Mr. Nuttapon, ThailandCONNEX projects to host a 100,000-strong entrepreneur community on its platform by the year-end. At present, the platform boasts a community exceeding 50,000. Beyond this, the platform also aims to add over 200,000 new products and services to the industry, potentially generating additional annual revenue upwards of 10 billion baht.
The conference, being held at Samyan Mitrtown, Bangkok, concludes tomorrow.
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