Connecting the Journey: Ipsos Supports Tourism Connectivity Initiative with TAT in Chiang Mai
How visitors move through a destination can shape their overall travel experience. While destinations may offer world-class attractions, navigating transport networks, understanding local travel options and planning journeys between locations can often remain a challenge, particularly for international travellers.
To help address this challenge, Ipsos, in collaboration with Bolliger & Company, partnered with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on a tourism connectivity initiative aimed at strengthening travel experiences across Thailand and supporting more seamless movement between destinations.
The project brought together research, strategy and stakeholder engagement to identify opportunities to improve tourism mobility and translate insights into practical solutions for visitors.
Understanding Tourism Connectivity
The initiative was guided by three objectives:
- Assess Thailand's tourism connectivity network and identify key traveller pain points.
- Develop practical recommendations to support more seamless travel across destinations and gateways.
- Pilot solutions through collaboration with public and private-sector stakeholders.
The work explored how visitors access, understand and use transport options throughout their journeys, helping identify opportunities to improve wayfinding, accessibility and travel planning.
Chiang Mai as a Pilot Destination
Chiang Mai was selected as a pilot location to demonstrate how tourism connectivity improvements could be implemented on the ground.
As one of Thailand's most popular destinations, Chiang Mai offers a rich mix of cultural attractions, local neighbourhoods, markets and heritage sites. However, visitors often need to navigate multiple transport options to explore the city and surrounding areas.
Working closely with the Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organization (Chiang Mai PAO) and Asset World Corp Public Company Limited (AWC), the project team developed a series of tourism maps designed to connect EV Bus routes and tourism transport services with major attractions, cultural landmarks, dining destinations and visitor amenities.
The maps provide visitors with clearer guidance on how to move around the city, making it easier to plan journeys and discover a wider range of local experiences.
Five Maps to Help Visitors Explore Chiang Mai
As part of the pilot, five tourism maps were created:
Chiang Mai Tourism & Transport Overview Map
An overview of EV Bus and tourism transport routes connecting key attractions across central Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai Old City Map
A guide to temples, cultural landmarks, restaurants and visitor destinations within the historic Old City.
Wat Ket Karam Area Map
A guide to attractions, local experiences and points of interest around the Wat Ket Karam neighbourhood.
Chiang Mai Night Bazaar Area Map
A visitor guide highlighting shopping, dining, accommodation and attractions around the Night Bazaar district.
Chang Moi Area Map
A guide connecting visitors with local cafés, restaurants, attractions and businesses throughout the Chang Moi area.
From Research Insights to Real-World Impact
Improving tourism connectivity is about more than infrastructure. It is also about making travel information easier to access and transport systems easier to understand and use.
The Chiang Mai pilot demonstrates how research and stakeholder collaboration can help improve the visitor journey while supporting broader tourism objectives, including encouraging the use of public and sustainable transport options and enabling visitors to explore destinations beyond traditional tourism hotspots.
Through collaboration between TAT, Chiang Mai PAO, AWC, Ipsos and Bolliger & Company, the initiative provides a practical example of how research and strategy can be translated into tangible solutions that improve the tourism experience.
