Noble and Ever Loyal City (When slogans need a miracle)

When slogans need a miracle

2012 kicks off Thailand’s new tourism slogan: “Miracle Thailand”. But how many people here know that? I did a rough survey among people around me on what they thought our slogan was and the answers I received were ‘Amazing Thailand’ or ‘Unseen Thailand’.

When I asked them if they had heard of a new slogan with the word ‘miracle’ in it, the response was mostly, “Huh?”, “What’s that?” or “Come again?”

But just to make sure I was not confused or incorrect, I called the TAT’s Call Centre on 1672. Besides, I was sure it was a common question and thought I should get the right answer.

“What is our tourism slogan this year?” I asked. A man answered: “Thiew hua jai mai, muang thai yang yuen”, which roughly translates to “Travel with a new heart for sustainable tourism in thailand”.

Now it was my turn to say “Huh?”, “What’s that?”, “Can you repeat that?”,

“Is there an English version?”.

The reply, his voice content and firm, “Amazing Thailand: Always Amazes You”, and assured me that it was the same slogan as last year. I questioned if he was sure and also asked if it should be “Miracle Thailand”. He replied: “That is a campaign. We still use the same slogan. Not ‘Miracle of Thailand’.” Hmm …

But I did not give up. So I called a PR team of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. And to my surprise, I did not get an answer right away. I was put on hold for about five minutes, during which I could hear the team discussing amongst each other in the background _ like “It’s the same as last year”, “Tell her to call TAT”, “It’s something related to the word green”. Their discussion went on for five minutes before one of them came back with the answer: “It is ‘Miracle Thailand’.

I still wasn’t convinced. What if they were confused or unsure, too? I had to make sure. So I decided to call the permanent secretary of the ministry for final confirmation. During the call I was assured that it was ‘Miracle Thailand’. And that this is the campaign slogan the government will use from 2012-2015 to attract 30 million visitors in 2015 from 19 million visitors in 2011. Yes. We really need a miracle.

Thailand is not the only country in Southeast Asia that changed its slogan in 2012. The government of the Philippines recently approved its new slogan: