Thai tourism to go online widely in China

SHANGHAI, CHINA, November 6 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has sought cooperation from Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba), a globally-renowned Chinese multinational firm specializing in the e-commerce, Internet, artificial intelligence (AI) and innovative technological systems, to promote the Thai tourism widely through the company's online channels. Somkid, who is leading a Thai business delegation to visit China during November 3-8, told TNA on Tuesday that he raised the issue at a latest meeting with Alibaba Co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma Yun in Shanghai. "The Alibaba Group has agreed to the Thai government's proposal and asked for a 20-second video clip on the Thai tourism to be promoted widely on the company's online channels, especially as part of its grand campaign marking the Singles' Day or Guanggun Jie holiday in China, which falls on every November 11 and is considered the world's biggest shopping day, especially among Chinese youths who normally come out to celebrates their pride as being singles", Somkid acknowledged. The Thai deputy prime minister said he has learned that more than 800 million Chinese people have followed the Alibaba Group's websites, including those of Fliggy, the company's popular online travel platform, where packaged tours organized or promoted by the state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have also been included to draw in Chinese and other foreign visitors to the country's attractive or interesting tourist destinations. According to the Thai deputy premier, the total sale of goods and services, including packaged tours, on China's Singles' Day last year alone reached about 25.3 billion US dollars, or more than 860 billion baht. (TNA)