Enter the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition: Get a free trip to Thailand and chance to win over $15,000 in cash and prizes

The Tourism Authority of Thailand invites travelers from around the world to apply to become contestants in the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition, an exciting concept in integrated online travel marketing.

Five teams from across the globe will be provided with a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: 6 expenses-paid days exploring the sights
and attractions in five of Thailand’s world famous holiday destinations:
Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui.

Each day the teams of competitors must visit the many fantastic
attractions and activities at their chosen destinations and then share
their experiences with the online community by uploading videos, photos,
and stories on various websites including, youtube, facebook, twitter, and
blogs.

The winner will be the contestant who receive the highest vote and will
determine the Ultimate Thailand Explorers. The winner are eligible for
more than $15,000 in cash, travel awards, and other fantastic prizes!
Mrs Juthaporn Rerngrosana, Tourism Authority of Thailand Deputy Governor
for Marketing Communication explained the reasoning behind the event:
“The tourism industry has been affected from frequently false and
certainly exaggerated information about the political instability in
Thailand, much of which has been spread over the internet. The main
purpose of this campaign is to enhance the positive perceptions about
Thailand, to help regain tourists’ confidence in traveling to Thailand,
and to create a more clear and balanced understanding of the conditions in
Thailand to the worldwide media, especially through online media, such as
bloging and social networking sites that have an impact on tourists’
travel making decisions.”

Application process and Selection of contestants:

Applications are open to teams of two (friends, siblings, lovers, family
members, colleagues) who must submit a short but entertaining audition
video explaining why they want to travel to Thailand and how they will
promote their preferred destination to the world. After uploading their
video to www.youtube.com, applicants must fill out an application that
states their preferred destination and describes their social media and
internet savvy.

From the pool of applicants, a panel of judges will select 25
semifinalists, five teams for each destination, whose audition videos will
be posted on www.ultimatethailandexplorers.com for registered voters to
select the five finalist teams.

The contest entry period begins on September 1st and runs until October
15th. After selecting the 25 semifinalists, online voting for the five
finalists will run from October 19th until November 12th.

About the Event:

The five finalist teams competing in the Ultimate Thailand Explorers event
will be flown to Bangkok on Emirates Airlines for an event briefing,
welcome party, and press conference on December 9th. The following day
each team will be sent to their respective destinations, accompanied by
their local volunteer liaisons to participate in the main event from
December 10th to the 15th.

The five teams will have six days to travel around their selected
destinations and explore the many attractions, sights, activities, and
other features found there. To promote the destinations, the contestants
are required to share their daily experiences with a global audience by
posting photos, videos, blogs, and travel stories with social media tools.
After a period of online voting (December 10th – January 8th), the team
that receives the most votes from online registered voters will be named
the Ultimate Thailand Explorers and will receive $10,000 cash, a holiday
package valued at $3,000 USD, round trip air tickets Bangkok – Chiang Mai,
Blackberry cell phones, a 10,000 THB gift voucher at Siam Paragon, Spa
treatments and other prizes.

Runners-up will also win randomly selected prize packages and two voters
will win prize packages based on a lucky draw. Prize packages vary, but
include Blackberry cell phones, free accommodation at premier Thai hotels
in the five featured destinations, spa vouchers, event tickets and more.
Winning teams will be announced on January 8th and a press conference with
the grand prize winners of the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition
will be held on February 2, 2010.

September 4, 2009   Posted in: Thailand