Roles of the overseas national tourism office : case study of Tourism Authority of Thailand in Stockholm

Abstract: National tourism marketing is a competitive business; many countries try to attract foreign tourists to benefit the nations’ economy. Functions of national tourism marketing are the combination of business, politics, and psychology. This explanatory research provides information about the roles and organization structure of the Thai National Tourism Office (NTO) located in Sweden and its role as a key gatekeeper linking Thai tourism development to the Scandinavian market. The department responsible for the Thai NTO is called the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and operates under the authority of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The objectives of this research are to explore the role of the overseas National tourism office (NTO) in promoting Thai tourism and perception from the head office of TAT in Bangkok, Thailand. The qualitative methods are applied to research: public document and in-depth interviews. Open-ended interviews with the director of TAT in the Stockholm overseas office and with Deputy Governor for International Marketing of TAT in Thailand to exhibit and compare the marketing strategies of Thai NTO and overseas office. The research focuses on comparison in intra-organizational communication, marketing strategies, marketing performance, and perceptions towards Thai tourism and destinations marketing development between TAT head office and TAT Stockholm overseas office.