Buenaflor, Remley Anne A.

H133TTM – Tourism in ASEAN Perspective

Tourism plays a vital role on the development of every nations. It already became a natural thing
for every individual living their everyday lives. Tourism does not only revolve about traveling
and leisure, for many years, it already became one of the main industry thriving for success in
different aspects and in different parts of the world. Not only does it helps an individual to
relieve themselves but also helps in boosting the economy, socio-cultural aspect, environment,
and even also the education of every student. And in relation to this, tourism marketing strategies
also plays an important role in every nation’s success. Between the different members of the
ASEAN, several countries were hailed as top most visited countries while some were ranked as
the least. Understanding how tourism marketing strategies affect the perspective of each
countries and could help formulating and planning their own approach, on what to change or
improve in terms of their strategies in order for their tourism industry to strive more. And for this
paper, a comparison between the tourism marketing strategies of Myanmar and Thailand in order
to know whether these are effective or not.

Prior to the pandemic that happened recently, the country of Thailand, which is listed as one of
the most visited countries among the ASEAN members, have sets its eye on several trends and
target sectors which helps the evolution of the Thai tourism businesses. First, the government of
Thailand focused on the growing number of senior tourists in the country. Since these are the
times where senior leisure travelers and retirees are growing in numbers, tourism related business
are set to target developed countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, and
Germany since these were the places were large numbers of the target sector are coming from.
Second is the development of services such as by adding activity-based travel tours, new
adventures, and local experiences for the tourists to have. Since competition in the marketplace
by businesses around Asia is on fire, instead of settling down on the common attractions and
destinations, focusing more on experience-based travels are more eye catching for the public’s
eye. Third, increasing their chance of success towards the digital marketing since online
information and the booming of various social media platforms are on the run. To summarize the
three, Thailand focuses on creating unique and new experiences for the people to enjoy, gives
attention to main target market such as seniors and retirees, and lastly is to reduce the cost of
expenses of the tourists and future customers by providing assistance and services through online
platforms. While for the country of Myanmar, listed as one of the least visited country member
of the ASEAN, has set its goal of attracting more tourists from neighboring countries from Asia.
It is been a couple of years prior to the rise of the pandemic when the government of Myanmar
participated in operating its tourism industry. After observing and understanding the importance
of this sector and see it as one of the major factors of the economy, the government considered
prioritizing the tourism industry of the country. Myanmar has open its political reform in the year
2011, and since then, people from various nations have come and gave attention to the local
attractions and culture. But the country has limited resources for accommodating tourists such as
infrastructures and businesses resulting to the decline in the numbers of visitors. That is why the
government thought of actions which would garner the attention of the mass public and potential
customers inside and outside Myanmar. First is the simplified visa which should be given to
tourists from China and Macau, while visitors from Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong would
not be required to have a visa in order to visit the country. Second is the approval of The
Companies Law which would attract the attention of foreign investors in the travel and tourism
industry to invest in the country and permit foreign ownership to any Myanmar company up to
35%. Third, changing its tourism tagline from “Let the journey Begin” to “Be Enchanted” in
order to seek positive image of the country from people. And through joining and promoting in
various trade fairs, the country has expanded its target market to many more countries such as
Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, and Germany. New branding of its tourism sector is expected to
garner attention from customers since the new campaign would give a mysterious and magical
image of Myanmar to people. To summarize the three, Myanmar focuses on attracting tourists
from neighboring countries and foreign investments in the travel and tourism sector, while at the
same time expanding its promotion through various countries in the west. In Thailand’s case, its
strength is its goal in having a plan for unique and new niches because as the competition sets
ablaze and began to tighten, customers might get too tired upon seeing almost the same
attractions and destinations. Aside from the pricing, customers are also looking forward for
things that are beyond their expectation and something that is uncommon for them to experience
in their local places. And such, Thailand’s initiative to focus more on activity-based travels is a
perfect match for foreign tourists while at the same time, also expanding their business in the
digital world where most people in any age bracket are present. The only thing that is a little
unconvincing for their strategies and plans is the attention given to only one age bracket and
target market. Although our seniors and retirees are a big contribution and number when it comes
to visitors, we should not also neglect the bigger number of adults visiting other places. Aside
from offering tourism packages and tours for the seniors, these things should also be offered and
be matched with the same interest as to people of younger ages. Because admit it or not, many
customers are usually coming from these generations. However, this still did not hinder the fact
that Thailand still came in the list of one of the most visited countries. This is due to Thailand
having beautiful cultural heritages, local attractions, and developed tourism facilities that can
cater the needs of the customers. As for the country of Myanmar, having a planned strategy in
terms of attracting tourist with the use of a new branding and simplified visa to several countries
and not requiring visa for some is a very good move. This could attract a lot of attention from
tourists because of its easy access. Permitting foreign investors to invest in various business I the
industry is also a great opportunity for the country to finally step up its game when it comes to
international collaborations and could gain more attention from potential foreign customers. The
only problem that could be seen in Myanmar’s tourism industry is its lack of accommodations
and infrastructures that could cater the needs of customers. Aside from these, it needs more
development when it comes to its local cultural heritages and various activities for the tourists to
experience.

As we all know, the pandemic had drastically affected the economy of every nation all over the
world and the countries of Thailand and Myanmar are two of those. Due to the rise of Covid
cases in the country of Thailand, tourism has slowed and its impact is not only seen in the
economic factor. Due to the fallback of Thailand upon the rise of Covid 19, it puts the country’s
tourism flow to a sudden halt which resulted to its GDP to fell down by 6.1 percent which
affected workers and resulting to many especially low-skilled ones to lose their job. Local
businesses also resulted in bankruptcy due to the declined number of customers because of the
sudden lockdowns in different areas. Recovery is hindered by sudden struck of second wave and
third wave of the pandemic which again, halted the government to recover and build back the
country. Aside from the financial sector, tourism sector of the country is also one of the most
affected due to the sudden halt of flights, activities, and visits form tourists. According to
UNCTAD, Thailand became of the most drastically affected countries and lose an approximate
amount of US$47 billion in its GDP on the year 2020 due to the declined number of tourism
activities. Employees working under the tourism sector also lost 12% of their wage and
employment rate is declined up to 17% percent due to the lack of flow and financial resources.
As per the country of Myanmar, also being of the most heavily affected countries had resulted to
many sudden impacts in the country’s economic status. Due to the sudden lockdown in the
country, exports and imports from all over different parts of the world has been put to a stop. A
large sum of revenue have also been lost in terms of the tourism industry due to the lack of
movement. An approximate number of 40% decline in terms of its GDP has been accumulated
and over four million migrant workers have lost their income. Aside from this, while battling
with the pandemic, a rise of a coup have also been noted. In the middle of a failing economy and
a not so good pandemic approach, a civil outrage is also ongoing in this country, this result to the
country’s economy to implode.

Now that the pandemic is slowly fading and a new normal is emerging in different parts of the
world, various actions are being made in order to recover from the drastic loss experienced from
the pandemic. For the country of Thailand, it already reopened its barriers form international
tourist visits but with new set of policies in accordance with the protocols for the Covid 19
endemic disease. First, international visitors should be subjected to a PCR test upon arrival to be
followed by a short quarantine. And local authorities are expecting a drop of cases by the month
of June and by that time, fully vaccinated individuals would already be able to access the country
without any restricting barriers. A new campaign is also introduced titled “Visit Thailand Year
2022: Amazing New Chapters” globally. This envisioned transformation on terms of the tourism
sector and economy. This inclines with the country’s plans of reopening quarantine free travels.
While it’s the same for the country of Myanmar, even though an individual is already fully
vaccinated, there is still a need for a PCR test result as per their new set of policies in terms of
traveling. Aside from this, Coid-19 insurance and health declaration forms days prior to the
tourist’s visit should also be prepared. An e-visa facility is made and ensured in order for the
travelers to freely access the country. But unlike in Thailand, it will not be an easy task for the
country of Myanmar to recover from its loss due to the pandemic and the junta. This is due to the
avoidance of the foreign tourists in visiting Myanmar because of the recent happenings such as
the violence and abuses by the Myanmar junta. This resulted to many potential travelers to feel
unsecured and scared for their safety despite the junta announcing the country’s reopening for
foreign tourists.

In my opinion, both tourism strategies of each country is very effective in terms of tourist
numbers. The only difference is their way of approach and how broad or specific their strategies
and plans are, for their tourism industry. For Thailand, reconsidering attracting foreign investors
in the country would of a big help in order to boost up more the country’s economy especially
the tourism sector because it will not only gain foreign business on the country but could also
promote more on an international basis. While for Myanmar, setting aside the currently
happening coup, having to reconsider investing in the digital world which could boost the
country’s tourism sector since many people opted to look for information through various online
platforms. Investing a promotional strategy in the digital platform would possible garner more
attention from potential customers internationally. And with these, I can say that both strategies
in terms of offering unique and new niches while at the same time attracting more foreign
investors to invest in our travel and tourism industry, since this is one of the most heavily
affected sector of the Philippines in the times of the pandemic, could possibly help in the rising
of our economic status.

References:
• Thailand to Fully Reopen to Tourist. (2022, March).
https://www.eiu.com/n/thailand-to-fully-reopen-to-tourists-on-july-1st/
• The Guardian. (2022, April). Tourists urged to avoid Myanmar as Junta Prepares to
Reopen to World.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/04/everything-is-not-ok-here-tourists-
urged-to-avoid-myanmar-as-junta-prepares-to-reopen-to-world
• Tat News. (2022, February). ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022: Amazing New Chapters’
envisioned Thai tourism transformation.
https://www.tatnews.org/2022/02/visit-thailand-year-2022-amazing-new-chapters-
envisioned-thai-tourism-transformation/
• United Nations Thailand. (2020, July). Thailand Economic Focus: Tourism Industry
Plummets Amid Covid 19 Pandemic.
https://thailand.un.org/en/53804-thailand-economic-focus-tourism-industry-plummets-
amid-covid-19-pandemic