Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin addresses members of the LGBTQIA+ community during a pride event in Bangkok on June 1, 2024. BANGKOK: Thailand’s recent move to enshrine legal protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community has put it on the cusp of a possible rainbow economic wave, and also given the kingdom a competitive edge in the region, according to experts.
“Being a leader in this space is going to provide benefits that I don't think people necessarily even think of. There'll be a lot of knock on benefits that are ancillary to marriage,” he said. People march at the LGBTQ+ parade in Bangkok Pride Festival 2024 Celebration Of Love, on Rama 1 road. Long considered a welcoming destination for the gay community, taking the steps to enact this new legislation will enhance Thailand’s reputation and give global businesses that need to prioritise diversity and inclusion the certainty and confidence to invest in Thailand, Mr Sears said.
“LGBT people are the canary in a coal mine for a broader culture or a society. So what you do to treat an invisible, often smaller minority that is persecuted globally, sends a message to how you treat all people.” Before this, the law had not kept up with prevailing community attitudes. A poll in June carried out by North Bangkok University found that 82.5 per cent of people supported the government’s campaign to enact marriage equality.Despite public support for more inclusive laws and policies, the country has previously faced challenges enacting legal protections.
The state has been slower to move in this space, Mr Jhitsayarat said, and the private sector has already proven to be proactive in promoting products such as same-sex couple health insurance. Throughout Bangkok Pride - a month-long celebration of LGBTIQ+ culture and community that is marked around the world in June - a broad assortment of companies were keen to position their brand closely with the social cause. Japan Airlines, EVMe and Agoda were among the official sponsors of events.
“How are they treating their LGBT employees? What are they doing to support the community? What are their policies internally? Do they have non-discrimination? Are they actively advocating for LGBT civil rights? If that's the case, then it's not rainbow washing,” he said. Mr Uzel is the founder and designer at MP Experiences, a luxury destination management company based in Thailand. He estimates that 20 per cent of his clientele are from the LGBTIQ+ community. The market is a burgeoning one.
“And it's not only for the gay community. Once a destination is gay friendly, other people also feel comfortable as well. You don't have to be gay to support the gay community or gay travel. This is the human rights thing,” he said. There might be more economic potential to untap, if the government and private sector continue to prioritise diversity and openness in the tourism sector, she said.
That has been evident in the amount of corporations keen to be involved in Thailand’s Pride celebrations throughout the month of June, he noted. The true opportunities may lie with the soft power projections that events like White Party aspires to deliver beyond Thailand. The event is already geared to launch in Vietnam and South Korea this year.
The total market for the genre is estimated by Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion to be worth more than 1 billion Thai baht, including overseas opportunities for commercial filming, fan events and related tourism. He said his programmes deliberately incorporate “Thainess” - costumes, food, music and culture - into them, further entrenching soft power possibilities. By law, that will also soon extend to marriage equality.