The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is planning a series of tourism development projects and marketing promotional strategies for the province of Phrae as part of its plans to draw more visitors to this lesser known northern area of the kingdom, as well as neighbouring Nan province. Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik, TAT Governor, said, “Statistics show that more and more European tourists are staying overnight in Phrae, which has long been seen as one of the most “off-the-beaten-track” parts of Thailand.

The European market has long played a major role in the development of Thai tourism. In 2013, European visitor arrivals totalled 6.3 million, up 11.62% over 2012. Russia topped the list with 1.73 million arrivals (+31.93%), followed by the UK 906,312 arrivals (+3.81%), Germany 744,363 (+9.08%), France 614,455 (+6.66%), and East Europe 346,246 (+23.23%).
Numerous other European markets also showed growth: Spain (+9.15%) to 123,490, Austria (+7.75%) to 102,007, Belgium (+7.15%) to 101,683, the Netherlands (+5.35%) to 219,260, Ireland (+4.34%) to 62,924, Norway (+4.30%) to 155,198, Switzerland (+4.23%) to 199,223, and Italy (+2.66%) to 206,050.

UNWTO and the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, consolidating their partnership in matters related to hospitality.The MOU aims to enhance the cooperation between UNWTO and IH&RA, a UNWTO Affiliate Member, in a number of initiatives related to the hospitality industry, including the Nearly Zero-Energy Hotels (NEZEH) Project, supporting hotels in improving their energy efficiency and reaching nearly zero energy levels.

Preliminary figures indicate that while USA, UK, and Germany maintain their positions as the leading bednight source markets for European cities, Russia and China exhibit the highest growth rates among the leading source markets in 2013.
This strategic focus on international visitors is the main reason for the triumph of the cities and gives Tourism managers every reason to be confident in the strength of the European city tourism industry.

What are the current trends and key drivers for success in the meeting industry – those were the main questions to be answered at the third international educational seminar organized by Prague Convention Bureau. This year’s seminar, which took place in Designhotel Elephant’s meeting facilities on 11th March, attracted more than 110 representatives of local regional and foreign convention bureaux, professional congress organizers, local representatives of associations, public authorities, universities and media.

by Thomas Lischka
13th International Tourism Film and Media Competition “The Golden City Gate” 2014 awarded outstanding productions from all over the world. During the 13th International Tourism Film and Media Competition “The Golden City Gate” 2014 more than 100 films from all over the world have been shown on the big screen at the ITB-Cinema. The international films competed in 13 different categories and many countries have been awarded such as Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Dominica, Dubai, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, India, Latvia, Malaysia, Peru, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and UK.