Bangkok--9 Mar--Syllable
Department of Tourism (DOT), Ministry of Tourism and Sports, has proposed the establishment of a “Destination Management Organisation” in each local community in a bid to facilitate development of tourist attractions branded under ecological, historical, and cultural tourisms, during the “Discover Thainess” year.
Acting Second Lieutenant Arnupap Gaesornsuwan, Director General of the Department of Tourism, revealed that the department had laid out plans to allow greater participation from local communities in the management of ecological, historical, and cultural tourist attractions to accelerate development process under the “Discover Thainess” theme.
According to the new plan, each community with tourist attractions is requested to nominate a group of working committee for the “Destination Management Organisation” (DMO) to write up development plans and framework to continue the management of on a self-reliance basis. The new move is expected to achieve a better management of tourist attractions, which can, in a more vivid fashion, depict the unique characteristic, the community lifestyle, and the local identity of each tourist attraction, on a sustainable basis. Meanwhile, the plan is also believed to help prevent the expansion of low-quality tourism businesses.
To establish the Destination Management Organisations, the government will hold a meeting in March for local tourism communities that are currently allocated budgets from the Bureau of Tourist Attraction Development. The DMOs are expected to collaborate with related agencies from both government and private sectors on this project. The network of government agencies are provincial governors, provincial tourism and sports office, municipal office, Tambon administration organisation, and the agency directly responsible for the tourist attraction such as the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Department of Fine Arts.
As for the private sector, the DMO will collaborate with tourism-related businesses in the area, local tourist guides, restaurants, and local traders. Representatives from the said entities are expected to brainstorm and collaborate to bring about the good management of the tourist attractions in terms of infrastructure, facilities, safety measures, marketing, public relations, and the attractions’ unique selling points.
“I believe that 2015 will be the golden year of Thailand’s tourism. Not only it is announced as the ‘Discover Thainess’ year, this year will see strong growth of tourist arrival based on the tourism statistics and forecast. The favourable trend will greatly benefit the national economy as a whole. However, we cannot refuse the fact that there will be possible adverse impacts from the growth in tourism. Therefore, we must be well prepared in every aspect as we need both the government and private sectors, which used to work separately, to be working closely together to make the project work,” the Director General said.
However, it is not necessary that all local Destination Management Organisations are identical. The DMOs in each locale should position itself according to the unique characteristic of the tourist attractions in the area. For example, the DMO of a historical attraction should involve representatives from the Department of Fine Arts, the local administrative body, and tourism businesses; an ecological attraction should involve local Regional Office of Protected Areas, local administrative bodies, the community itself, and the private agencies; while the DMO of a cultural attraction may involve representatives from the local administrative body, provincial office of tourism and sports, the owner of the attraction if applicable, and the local community, to maximise the benefits from the potential of each tourist attraction.