SKÅL International Thailand, the national representative committee of SKÅL International – the world’s largest global association of travel and tourism professionals in 100 countries – has appointed a new executive committee comprising members from the country’s six SKÅL clubs, notably Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Phuket, Koh Samui and Krabi.
The new committee under the leadership of newly-elected president, Kevin Rautenbach will support the country’s six clubs in building membership, engaging young tourism professionals and promoting SKÅL’s key mission of doing sustainable business among friends.
Rautenbach said: “For 2023, my focus will be to give back to our members through several programmes and partnerships. We have already taken steps to save on annual membership fees and now that travel has restarted, we will use some funds to enhance our #RediscoverThailand program – a consumer-focused tourism campaign designed to drive traffic directly to members’ businesses.”
Another focus will be the SKÅL Talks Thailand programme – a webinar series launched in 2020 to support members through the pandemic tourism recovery process. It will continue to feature talks, panels, and workshops hosted by industry experts and personalities to share expertise and inject fresh ideas to rebuild the industry.
Meanwhile, SIT’s destination marketing websites for each SKÅL Thailand destination will be given additional funding for their development. The seven destination-specific websites will focus on promoting different areas and aspects of Thailand, and members’ tourism-related enterprises, at no cost to members.
Rautenbach added that sustainability will continue to be a priority, and the association’s campaign will continue both at the club and national levels.
Rautenbach is a South African national who spent most part of the past 17 years in Thailand. He is the managing director & co-founder at Miand Asia. He was formerly president of SKÅL International Krabi, vice president of SKÅL International Thailand and vice president South-east Asia at SKÅL Asia.
