Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaiboon has assumed the role and responsibilities of the new Director General of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
During her tenure as Deputy Governor for Tourism Products and Commerce, Ms Tapani was recognized for her leadership in launching the amazing Thailand Safety and Health Authority (SHA) accreditation program, which enables hotels and services to meet specific health and safety standard. The scheme became mandatory for hotels seeking to register as a quarantine facility during the strict COVID-19 control measures and has gained global recognition under the WTTC SafeTravels protocol.
She also initiated the Special Tourist Visa (STV) program to facilitate the reopening of Thailand, which led to subsequent entry programs including villa quarantine, yacht quarantine and golf quarantine, as well as the Phuket sandbox, which is internationally recognized as a model for the country. reopening.
Ms. Tapani is recognized as social media and technology savvy and has played a key role in using technology and social media to promote and grow Thailand’s tourism industry. Some of her notable achievements in this field include the Google Street View project with Google Thailand and the social media platform “Amazing Thailand”.
As an advocate of Thailand’s tourism industry, Ms. Tapani has played an important role in developing various specialty tourism products, including health and wellness tourism, yacht and cruise tourism, community tourism, and the “King’s Sustainable Tourism Wisdom” project, awarded 2018 PATA Education and Training Awards.
During her early tenure at TAT, Ms. Tapani was widely recognized for her contribution to the promotion and development of tourism within the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) region. (TAT)
