Promoting Creative Industry to Increase the Competitiveness of the Tourism and Service Industry in Thailand

Abstract

Over the past few years, the creative, tourism and services industries have garnered nationwide attention. Although not newfound, it has become the heart and soul towards increasing value to products, cultural services, as well as driving the country's economics exponentially. For Thailand, the government has introduced the Creative Economy Agency (CEA), a public organization aimed at promoting and increasing the efficiency of the creative sector including 1) Food - showcasing renowned Thai culinary expertise. 2) Film - elevating Thai cinematography, television, and the response from foreign countries towards Thai cinematography as well as iconic Thai landmarks used in filmography. 3) Fashion - promoting Thai wear and dresses. Iconic clothing used throughout the four regions, including Thai cotton in which the world has come to admire and accept it's value. 4) Fighting - promoting Thai martial arts and defense. 5) Festivities - celebrating Thai cultural festivals. However, it has come to light that the government efforts to foster these activities involves multiple disparate organizations, resulting in lack of cohesive integration and inconsistent support and funding. Therefore, the involving parties should come together and join forces to establish a mutual direction to support the creative industry utilizing each own expertise, paving the way for a more streamlined and impactful development. Therefore, this academic paper aims to present guidelines for promoting creative industry for increasing the competitive advantage in Thailand.