(CNN) – Summer adventures have long been a happy and occasional travel advantage.
But the Thai tourism authority is partnering with the Tinder dating app to offer tour packages specifically for meeting purposes.
Although Thailand’s borders are technically open to foreign tourists (at least those who are willing to quarantine in a hotel room for two weeks and pay for a visa application), the “single trip” initiative is aimed at to locals as a way to encourage them to travel.
The Thai Tourism Authority (TAT), the country’s official travel agency, is planning nine itineraries across the country and launching three pilot trips. The first, which will take place on December 20, is a cruise on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok with capacity for up to 100 singletons.
The one-day experience includes sightseeing, dinners, and a talk by a Feng Shui expert “who will share tips on how to pay homage to Buddha and ask for blessings,” which should always give language-bound daters.
The other two pilot experiences are a party and a beach concert in Phuket and a train ride to the Pa Sak Jolasid Dam in Lopburi, both in January 2021 and with a capacity for 50 people each. Reservations open on December 15 and can be made through the Sneaksdeal website (in Thai).
“The‘ Single Travel Route ’is aimed at solo travelers who prefer to travel alone to various destinations in Thailand,” TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said in a press release.
The “One Journey” initiative is just the latest idea to stimulate domestic tourism amid the coronavirus pandemic. In November, Thai Airways, the parent company of Thai Smile, operated a one-time “flight to nowhere” that departed and returned to Bangkok and flew over 99 Buddhist sacred sites across the country.
Elsewhere, Taiwan’s EVA Airlines had a similar idea of its own. The “Love Is In the Air” promotion has scheduled three flights: Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with quick appointments on board, followed by a romantic tea or dinner at candlelight on the mainland.
Just a question: if a couple makes a love match on one of these trips, will the tourism board also sponsor their future honeymoon?