• Home
• GOVERNMENT CXO
• E-GOVERNMENT
• CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
• TAX AND REVENUE MANAGEMENT
• GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
• GREEN GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT DATA MANAGEMENT
• GOVERNMENT SECURITY
• GOVERNMENT CLOUD
• GOVERNMENT ANALYTICS
• GOVERNMENT GIS
• CONNECTED GOVERNMENT
• DIGITAL INCLUSION
• EDUCATION IT
• HEALTHCARE IT

Citizen Engagement, E-Government

Tourism Authority of Thailand introduces new social media applications

By Adrienne Valdez | 1 July 2011

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently launched two new social media game applications to expand the kingdom’s tourism visibility.

Designed around two of the country’s iconic images – the speeding trishaw known as the tuk-tuk and the extremely popular Thai food, the games are for the millions of young people using Facebook and smartphones.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Mr Suraphon Svetasreni, said, “TAT has initiated an active digital marketing strategy in order to promote and strengthen the image and positioning of Thailand’s tourism industry. Digital is the new media to reach the Internet and smartphone users, all of whom are well-educated with high income levels.”

In the first game, “Tuk Tuk Racing”, players need to drive a tuk tuk to the final destination as fast as possible. On the way, there are many obstacles that players must overcome and can draw on the help of a wizard.

The Thai-cooking game, “Somtam Sukjai”, is designed for iPad users only and can be downloaded from an iPad Apple store. Players become the “chefs” and need to find and select the correct ingredients as listed on each menu within a fixed period of time.

The latest to be launched are the “Smile Land” games through Facebook, which has more than 700 million users. Three more mini-games are to be available in September 2011.

According to Suraphon, “The launch of Smile Land is another important step forward in the TAT’s digital marketing strategy. We expect to reach more than one billion potential target users worldwide, expand our databases from 500,000 to one million by the end of this year, and increase the frequency of use and access to TAT’s social networking media and mobile applications.”

---