Thailand hosts romantic Chiang Mai honeymoon trips for Chinese celebrity couples

Ms. Runjuan Thongrut (centre),
 TAT Director of East Asian Region,
and Mrs. Zhu Lijuan and Mr. Li Junbao

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is hosting honeymoon trips for six celebrity couples from China under the 4th Romance in Thailand project. Taking place from 17 to 23 May, the hosted couples have been enjoying a range of Northern Thai experiences packaged to promote romantic activities and attractions in Chiang Mai and boost the province’s standing as a preferred honeymoon destination.

Under the theme, “Amazing Romance in Thailand 5.20 @ Chiang Mai”, the six loving couples have been experiencing a range of local activities in different areas of Chiang Mai. These include spa treatments, afternoon tea, merit-making in local temples, elephant bathing, and Thai cooking lessons. Members of the Chinese media were also invited along, meaning that all activities undertaken by the celebrity couples would be reported via online and offline publications as well as shared via social media channels, showcasing some of the many activities Chiang Mai offers to couples.

Ms. Runjuan Thongrut, TAT Director of East Asian Region, said “The Romance in Thailand project has been running successfully for four years. And, as Chiang Mai was awarded the Best Honeymoon Destination in 2016 from Ctrip.com, the largest online travel agent in China, we are promoting the charms of the North to newlyweds and couples. Chiang Mai is one of Thailand’s most romantic destinations so we’d like the guests on this trip to inspire other Chinese couples to choose the North for their honeymoons.”

The “Amazing Romance in Thailand 5.20 @ Chiang Mai”, is so called, to mark 20 May, which is celebrated as the day of love in China. This tradition comes from the fact that the pronunciation for the date 5.20 (the fifth month and 20th day) sounds like the Chinese pronunciation of “I love you.” So on 20 May the couples came together for a romantic Lanna Dinner at the 137 Pillars House Hotel Chiang Mai, where they dressed in Northern Thai costume and sample authentic local dishes.

Ms. Runjuan added, “We want the “Amazing Romance in Thailand 5.20 @ Chiang Mai” to help spread awareness of the romantic side of Chiang Mai to over five million potential Chinese travellers, and to encourage quality Chinese tourists to make Thailand their honeymoon destination and help increase sales of honeymoon packages among Chinese travellers.”

The activity is jointly arranged by the TAT offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming and Chengdu.

In 2017, TAT expects Thailand to welcome at least nine million visitors from China and generate some 570 billion Baht for the Thai tourism industry. Of these, TAT anticipates about 2,000 honeymoon couples with an average trip expenditure of around 80,000 Baht or approximately 200 million Baht in total.