Bangkok--25 Feb--syllable
The Department of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, has announced its policy for 2015 involving four cutting-edge strategies to boost tourism in Thailand in the Discover Thailand Year 2015, to increase the tourism foreign exchange earnings, and to make Thailand a cultural tourism hub in ASEAN.
Acting Second Lieutenant Arnupap Gaesornsuwan, Director General of the Department of Tourism, said in his recent exclusive meeting with major media that the year 2015 would be an important year in several aspects. This is the “Discover Thainess” year and at the same time Thailand will be fully integrated to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The integration later this year will facilitate exchanges among the ASEAN countries in both cultures and tourism aspects. It is therefore a perfect opportunity for Thailand to present and promote the exotic charm of Thainess, its precious traditions and culture, its world-class Thai cuisine, and the unique community lifestyles to the tourism world.
The Department of Tourism, the government’s agency that plays a major role in developing the tourism industry in Thailand, has therefore formulated a set of strategies for the year 2015 with the “Discover Thainess” concept. The strategies focus on a number of development projects on cultural tourist attractions and community lifestyles. In practice, these projects will involve promotion and development in terms of the beauty of tourist destinations, the standards of tourism-related goods and services, and the readiness of Thailand’s human resources in the tourism industry. The objectives of the “Discover Thainess” year in 2015 are to boost tourism earnings, and to strengthen Thailand’s position as the hub of cultural tourism in ASEAN.
The four major strategies of “Discover Thainess” comprise firstly the promotion and development of tourist destinations, the human resources aspect, preservation of Thai culture, and the historical accounts of tou rist attractions;
Secondly, the focus on Thailand’s unique selling points by making cultural tourism a prominent feature on the world tourism market; Thirdly, an expansion of the existing tourism-related network and related tourism businesses; and finally, the mobilisation of tourism promotion by encouraging the participation of local communities, private sector, and educational institutions.
The Department of Tourism plans to move ahead with the project by initially focusing on the provinces selected in the existing “12 Not-To-Be-Missed Provinces” scheme, and other areas that show promising cultural and community lifestyle highlights. The activities in each targeted tourist attraction will be in line with the local unique features and historical characteristics. The projects for the Northern region, for example, will focus on historical and cultural aspects of Lanna civilisation, while those for the Lower-Northeastern region, on integrated Isan-Khmer civilisation. There will also be associated project namely the “Clean Food Street & Clean Fresh Market” where tourism is promoted through the typical Thai food consumption culture on food street and fresh market.
“The typical Thai lifestyle is already a charm in the eyes of foreigners. We just need to locate the points where we can strengthen, develop, and improve this unique selling point to make it work effectively. Major factors to consider include the professional knowledge of tour guides, their language proficiency to communicate the roots of Thai culture and lifestyles, standards of goods and services, and safety and security of tourists,” the Director General said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports has also laid down a long-term development and tourism standard policies in line with the “Thailand Tourism Strategy 2020”. The Department of Tourism and concerned agencies have been actively working together to draft a long-term tourism strategy and development plan which is expected to be completed for implementation within this year. The strategic plan comprises three areas of focus including, firstly, the development of goods, services, and other factors that support the tourism industry; secondly, the revival and development of tourist destinations to assure the sustainability of Thailand’s tourist attractions; and finally the development of tourism-related infrastructure and facilities to effectively support tourism.
The above policy framework will assure that the Thai tourism industry will be equipped with strong potential in term of quality and operating standards to bring sustainability to Thai tourism in the long run, said the Director General