Adding further polish to Thai diving and spa tourism
The Tourism and Sports Ministry is hosting a meeting in Bangkok with representatives of 23 countries, aimed at improving services in the diving and spa industries to meet international standards in hopes of making Thailand the regional hub of diving and spa tourism.
The Office of Tourism Development is representing Thailand, and the 23 countries taking part include Canada, Italy, Malaysia, France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Cuba and Argentina. The meeting, which began yesterday and finishes today, has as its theme the International Standards Organisation's ISO/TC228 standard for tourism and related services. Tourism and Sports Minister Suvit Yodmani said Thailand had for many years been well known for its spas and diving tours but that the Kingdom needed to lift these services to meet international standards. "Thailand could become the regional hub for spa and diving [holidays] if we could develop better services and quality," he said. The ministry projects total tourism revenues of Bt900 billion this year, up from last year's Bt800 billion. Most arrivals will be from Malaysia, Japan, Germany, the UK, Sweden and Norway. To give tourists confidence in visiting Thailand, the ministry is working with Airports of Thailand to ease the problem of unregistered taxis operating from airports and cheating tourists by overcharging. The ministry will also work with educational institutes to produce more tourist guides and is trying to reduce cheap packages from China known as "zero-dollar tours". Moreover, the ministry plans to organise a football championship in five southern provinces next month, to lure local tourists back to the country's three southernmost provinces, which has been hard hit by the ongoing insurgent violence. Phang Nga Tourism Association president Prasert Chanpol-ngarm said tourists were returning to the province without fear of another tsunami. They have confidence in a new tsunami warning system installed along the beaches of the Andaman Coast, including Khao Lak, which suffered the greatest damaged from the massive waves of December 26, 2004. However, local tourists continue to avoid the area, so the association is planning a special campaign called "Sawasdee Khao Lak", which will run from April to October and is specifically designed to entice Thai tourists back to Phang Nga province. "We'll offer packages including air tickets and one night's accommodation for two for between Bt6,900 and Bt7,200. This is expected to attract more visitors," Prasert said.
Suchat Sritama The Nation
|
