mobilitydata_en

In the past four decades, Thailand has been struggling with the challenge of area-based inequalities. Before the Covid-19 crisis, the Thai economy was worth 16.9 trillion baht, but 70 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) came from just 15 provinces, which are those of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chachoengsao, Phuket, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Khon Kaen, while the rest 62 provinces contributed only 30 percent to GDP. Area-Based Inequalities A deeper analysis of Thailand’s economic drivers reveals that the same 15 provinces have generated 88 per cent of tourism revenue, while the other 62 provinces, also known as second-tier provinces, have contributed just 12 percent of gross tourism revenue. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, a lecturer at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture, said, “Area-based inequalities have prevailed in Thai tourism for a long time. Most tourists choose to visit only major provinces, which led to resource degradation and significant income equality.” According to a report published by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the average length of stay for each domestic trip is 2.5 days, suggesting that Thais usually travel during weekends or…

“Our project started out of our belief in the power of data. We have already seen so many use cases involving commercial data. So, won’t it be better to bring experts from various fields together to solve social problems through data? dtac decided to do this project after just a one-hour talk with Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture and Boonmee Lab,” said On-uma Rerkpattanapipat, Head of Communication & Sustainability at dtac. She is the key person behind the “Study Project on Mobility and Concentration of Thai Tourists during COVID-19 Outbreak based on Mobility Data” with the code name Project Phatthalung. Ms. On-uma believes that the telecom industry is an important “data enabler" because only a few industries have access to such massive amounts of customer data. In the beginning, the three partners of the project thought about conducting the study in Phatthalung province only. But after reviewing the potential of mobility data, they agreed to conduct the study on a national scale. Billions of Datasets It took nearly two years for the Phatthalung Project to take off, though. The three partners spent considerable time assessing and reviewing the risks involved in mobility-data handling during the research process. Over a one-and-a-half-year…

The transition into a digital society has rapidly changed the social landscape, with the private sector actively using big data for commercial purposes. Many governments are discussing how to apply big data in a similar manner for the formulation of public policies. According to Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, a lecturer at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture, there are widespread debates on the use of big data for policy formulation in many countries. Norway, Sweden, France, and Slovakia, for example, use mobility data to analyze travel patterns to develop tourism strategies. Likewise, the collaboration between dtac, Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture, and Boonmee Lab also reveals the potential of mobility data in public-policy formulation. When compared with data from surveys, mobility data is much more extensive and the process of data collection is much more cost and time efficient. If used in policymaking, mobility data can drive massive impacts and innovations for sustainable economic, social and environmental development. “Access to mobility data does not just allow the public sector and researchers to better understand social circumstances in a timely manner, but it also enables civil society, communities, and small-scale business owners to…

Another tourism-promotion strategy that came out of the study on movement patterns and concentration of Thai tourists during COVID-19 outbreak based on mobility data focuses on developing experience-based overnight tourism. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, Urban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, said, “Overnight stay is an indicator of tourism success. Cities with many overnight tourists are considered successful because overnight tourism can generate higher revenue and economic value than same-day tourism.” Overnight tourism also creates higher positive social impacts as tourists have more opportunities to interact and engage with local communities. The longer the visit, the higher chance they are exposed to a cultural exchange experience. The aim of experience-based overnight tourism development is to build a “fanbase” of a city, which leads to quality tourism and repeat visits. Also, tourists will continue to purchase products from those areas even after they have returned to their hometown. This is the importance of experience-based overnight tourism development and how it can pave way for sustainable tourism economy. “Tourism can generate a positive economic and social impact to local community, especially in regards to experiences and cultural exchanges,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong added. Three Overnight-Tourism Trends The study…

Thailand has a long history of promoting “domestic tourism”.  During the 1997 Financial Crisis and Bird Flu Crisis, Thais were seriously encouraged to explore Thai destinations.  In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the government has also promoted domestic tourism via the “Rao Tiao Duai Kan” (We Travel Together) scheme. According to a study using mobility data on movement patterns and tourist concentrations during the Covid-19 pandemic, Thais managed to take day trips averaging approximately 150 kilometers. On one hand, tourists from neighboring provinces of Lamphun, Chiang Rai and Nakhon Si Thammarat made 40-60% of their total day trips to these provinces. On the other hand, only 14% of total day trips were made by tourists from neighboring province to other secondary provinces. Some provinces were able to attract tourists even though they required travelling as far as 200 kilometers, such as Mae Hong Son, Ranong, Nan, Phetchabun and Nakhon Phanom. In addition, other provinces were able to attract 3-5 times more day trippers than average, such as Nakhon Nayok, Ratchaburi, Suphanburi, Samut Songkhram and Ang Thong. When considered together, these factors show that up to 16 provinces have the potential to further develop day-trip tourism. These provinces are Nakhon Si…