Mastercard ties up with Thailand Tourism Authority

Global payments technology major Mastercard has tied up with the Thailand Tourism Authority (TAT) to tap Indians travelling to the ASEAN country.

As per Mastercard data, there has been 20 percent increase in spends on cashless transactions in Thailand by Indians as compared to 2018-19.

"Mastercard works in promoting tour and travel all around the world, it is something we have done for many years. We work with many of our partner banks, it is not about only Thailand.

"Thailand is a combination of reasons and the fact that it is a very big market for tourism. Also, it is a very experiential market and has really good places to eat out," Manasi Narasimhan, Vice President Marketing and Communications, Mastercard said in an interaction.

Travellers visit Thailand all though the year, May, December and January being the peak months.

Mastercard said Mumbai and Delhi airports account for more than 50 per cent of departures to Thailand. However, there has been a significant increase in influx from tier II town airports due to increased connectivity.

Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Krabi form more than 88 per cent of cardholder spends in Thailand, Mastercard said.

Narasimhan said Thailand is a huge market for Indian tourists and Mastercard works wherever tourism boards are keen to collaborate with the company.

The payments technology major has joined hands with the Central Group in Thailand which has various business interests ranging from retail malls, property development, brand management, hospitality, food & beverages as well as digital lifestyle.

Mastercard customers using services of Central Group will get benefits such as discounts and points when they will transact digitally.

TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Asia and South Pacific) Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya said India is a booming market in terms of arrivals as well as spending.

In 2018, TAT registered a growth of nearly 25 per cent in arrivals from India, taking the total to 1.60 million, keeping Thailand among the top two most preferred destinations by Indians.

This is just behind Japan and ahead of Russia, TAT said, adding it will continue its aggressive and relentless push to increase Indian visitors year after year.

"The targets for 2020 are to boost the Indian market revenue by 17.59 per cent over the projection for this year and also set clear directions to move the Thai tourism industry out of mass tourism and towards responsible tourism with an emphasis on revenue-generating quality tourists," Na Ayudhya said.