Airbnb announces latest destination marketing efforts in Buriram

Ahead of World Tourism Day this week, Airbnb reaffirmed its commitment to continue promoting Thailand’s emerging destinations on the global stage, with its latest community-led destination marketing campaign in Buriram, Thailand.

Airbnb Head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia Mich Goh and Advisor to the Minister of Tourism and Sports Siraphop Duangsodsri jointly launched the campaign, titled ‘Sustainable Travel with Airbnb: Beyond Big Cities’. The video features Buriram’s unique local attractions and way of life, as seen through the eyes of Airbnb’s passionate host community.

The video, which will run on Airbnb’s global platforms, aims to promote and drive both domestic and international travel to emerging destinations in Thailand. The global end-to-end hospitality company has plans to expand its destination marketing efforts to other emerging destinations in the country, including Saraburi’s Nong Saeng and Sao Hai districts.

The event also featured a panel discussion with Chompu Marusachot, Director, Marketing Information Technology Division, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT); Ratthasart Korrasud, Senior Executive Vice President, Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA); Suthep Keasang, Deputy Director, Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA); and Khanchai Arram, Executive Director, B-STAY.

The panelists shared their perspectives on digital tourism and sustainable travel, and discussed how Thai government officials and community stakeholders can best leverage technology to support local communities and budding hospitality entrepreneurs. 

Airbnb first partnered with the Buriram-based homestay provider B-STAY, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, to build flexible accommodation supply for the Thailand MotoGP 2018, in the process providing hospitality training and onboarding over 65 local homestays in Buriram. 

Ahead of the upcoming Buriram MotoGP 2019, the company announced new data showing that travellers to Buriram are increasingly turning to Airbnb for accommodation for key tourism events in the city:

• Since Airbnb launched its partnership with B-STAY last year, the number of listings in Buriram on Airbnb has grown by 360% year-on-year.
• Buriram came in #7 as the top trending destination Airbnb guests are heading to in Q3 2019, based on percentage growth in bookings from last year. There is a 357% year-on-year growth in bookings to Buriram during this period.*
• During this year’s Buriram MotoGP, the Airbnb host community in Buriram will welcome over 430 guests from more than 100 cities around the world into their homes and communities, a 96% year-on-year increase.**
• Approximately 27% of estimated guest arrivals are domestic, and top overseas guest markets comprise Australia, India, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• The average booking size is 2.5 pax, and guests will stay for a duration of 3 nights.
• Guests aged 30-39 comprise the largest category of guests, followed by guests aged 40-49. Women hosts comprise 45% of all hosts in Buriram’.***

Mich Goh, Head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, Airbnb, shared, “Driven by a desire for more local and authentic experiences, we are seeing more travellers from Thailand and the world visit off-the-beaten track destinations. Our community’s unique accommodation and experience offerings helps emerging destinations, like Buriram, attract and host more visitors. Looking forward, we will continue to work closely with governments and community stakeholders to support the growth of tourism in emerging destinations and spread the benefits beyond big cities and tourism hotspots.”

Speaking at the “Sustainable Travel with Airbnb: Beyond Big Cities” seminar hosted by Airbnb, Siraphop Duangsodsri, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism and Sports, said, “Tourism is a key industry for Thailand and positively impacts job creation, investment and infrastructure development. The tourism industry has generated more than THB2 trillion baht for the nation over the past year, and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports is committed to continue boosting tourism growth both in terms of quality and safety. We will work to ensure Thailand remains a top-tier tourist destination, and support digitization to better promote and provide better tourism experiences for all, including accommodation which help to distribute incomes and tourism benefits to local communities.”

*Based on internal Airbnb data for year-over-year growth for bookings made from September 1 to December 1, 2019 compared to the same booking period in 2018. 

**Based on Airbnb internal data from October 3 to 6, 2019.

***Based on self-reported data by hosts.