Tourism Authority of Thailand seeking utility token’s approval to attract digital nomads

Thailand is on the way to intensifying the gross domestic product (GPD) and is targeting crypto enthusiasts and nomads to come closer to fruition.

As per the article by Bangkok, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is gearing up to launch its own blockchain-based utility token, TAT. 

As TheCoinRise reported, Thailand’s tourism authorities have announced their utility token development plans in September as a part of a largely structured “crytourism” campaign. The goal of the campaign is to attract the attention of crypto enthusiasts and wealthy digital nomads. TAT has been discussing the idea with the Stock Exchange of Thailand for the issuance of the token.

As per the report by the Bangkok Post published on November 24, the TAT coin’s infrastructure is all ready to go live. It is just waiting for the green light from the Thai government. 

On Tuesday, during the “Transform tourism with cryptourism” conference, Jirayut Srupsrisopa, the founder and CEO of Bitkub, a local crypto exchange, urged policymakers to approve the TAT token’s rollout. He stated:

“Private sectors are ready to provide digital infrastructure, but we’re just waiting for the government to press the button by enacting laws, regulations, or even policies to help facilitate digital asset markets. Our national GDP could grow six times if we can strengthen this market.”

Notably, the oldest bank of Thailand, The Siam Commercial Bank, recently acquired 51% shares of Bitkub.

Thailand aims to support local businesses

Yuthasak Supasorn, the TAT Governor, explained that Thailand’s campaign consists of creating a new system for tourism with the integration of digital technologies to allow wealthy people, including crypto holders, to channel their money straight to tourism operators without the involvement of agents or brokers.

The governor added that the step would support local businesses in Thailand and help them to recover from the impact of the low tourism capital inflow into the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al Jazeera published a report that claims that the tourism industry in Thailand is seeing a very slow growth post-pandemic. Before COVID, the country used to see around 40 million tourists, which has now decreased to 106,117 in the first ten months of 2021.