Tourism Authority of Thailand to push Phuket as 'wedding hub'

Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the TAT's South Region 4 office in Phuket, said the TAT will offer special promotions to induce large wedding parties to Phuket.

The announcement follows a recent trip to Phuket by Sansern Ngaorungsi, TAT Deputy Governor for international marketing.

"Phuket is second only to Bangkok for the number of foreign couples choosing to have wedding parties in Thailand. It is also the top choice among couples wanting to exchange vows in a beautiful beach setting in Thailand," she said.

The TAT is keen to host more weddings of well-heeled couples from India, known for its elaborate and often very expensive matrimonial services.

"Indian wedding parties are the largest, with groups from 300 to 500 people sometimes coming in and booking entire resorts and paying over one million baht," Mrs Bangornrat said.

The luxury Banyan Tree resort in the Laguna Phuket resort complex recently hosted one such event, she said.

"The TAT is already marketing in Mumbai and New Deli, offering special inducements to groups of 300 or more," she said.

"Indian groups always bring in their own wedding organizers, consultants and cooks. They prefer to hold weddings from November to February. Having wedding parties in internationally branded hotels seems to be a new trend among affluent Indian families," she said.

The TAT will also try and lure more wedding parties from Australia as well as South Korea.