Business Line 
  
Chennai, Dec 24: It is nice to have a honeymoon abroad, but why not the wedding itself. India’s affluent do not flinch at throwing money on lavish wedding parties and this has caught the eye of the Thais.

Shaadi in Thailand Company Ltd is offering package wedding services for Indians at three of four star hotels in Thailand.

Speaking to Business Line on the sidelines of a road show ‘Amazing Thailand’ organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the director of the company, Arthit Sehgal, said he spotted a business opportunity here when he noticed the exorbitant charges that hotels in India charged.

Since Thailand encourages tourism, the tariffs are reasonable and he introduced the concept early 2007. So far the company has organised 26 marriages in 2007 and for 2008 it has already booked eight weddings, especially in February.

Three plans

The company has three plans - Buffet, A la carte and DIY (Do it yourself). While the charges for the latter two are based on the menu and the services opted for, the tariff for the buffet is in three categories. While the Silver package is priced at $199 per person, the Gold package costs $399 and the Platinum $599, depending on the choice of hotels and services.

However, for all the packages, the company offers a two-night, three-day stay, three breakfasts, two lunches and dinners, local transport, mehendi service, pundit to perform the wedding in the desired style and ritual, flowers and other decoration. Besides there will be a tri-lingual service, in English, Thai and one Indian language of the customer’s choice, he said.

“Except for the airfare we offer total solutions from airport to airport for our customers who want to perform weddings in Thailand. The average tariff for a day in a four-star hotel in Thailand is around $80 while it is around $150 in India for a comparable hotel,” Sehgal said. Even taking into account the airfare, a wedding in Bangkok or Pattaya will be cheaper, he said.

Boost for agencies

With internet playing a vital role in air ticketing and hotel bookings, the business of travel agents is depleting. But they may now look at organising weddings, or other family or official functions in Thailand.

The director of TAT, Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, said the road show would help TAT to further strengthen its position in the India.

The event seeks to enhance interaction with major travel companies and tour operators in India, providing them with latest information on Thailand, both from TAT and its co-participating principals - Central World, Siam Niramit and Thai Mailing Service.

Earlier this year, TAT organised similar road shows in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and in the current series it is covering Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai.

Beach and wellness

Thailand caters to vacation needs of cosmopolitan Indians by offering beaches, water and adventure sports, eco-tourism and wellness. It is also fast emerging as a wedding and honeymoon destination, he said.

At present, Thai Airways operates one daily service to Bangkok from Kolkata, tri-weekly flights from Hyderabad and flights four times a week from Chennai. Ayudya said the potential from Chennai is significant that it calls for increasing the services to at least six per week.

“The issue is with both the Governments and I see some progress now,” he said.

Visitor arrivals

In 2006, Indian visitors to Thailand stood at 4,29,732 and during the this year it has crossed 3,84,000 in July itself. “We hope the number of Indian visitors will cross five lakh this calendar and in 2008 will cross six lakh. We are concentrating on families as they end up spending more, with each one of the family having different choices.”

“We are also looking at the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events) segment and student groups. The average length of stay of Indians in Thailand has been 7.5 days compared to nine days of a European visitor. However, this is far better when compared to visitors from other Asian countries.”

TAT will also explore co-branding opportunities in key cities to increase the level of interest in Thailand and its tourism products, he said.

As part of the activities TAT is in talks with the airline companies that are planning to commence services to Thailand, he added.