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Published on December 10, 2007

The Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association have just concluded the four-day Chiang Mai Tourism Forum 2007, held in a bid to attract more high-end international visitors.

The TAT invited more than 120 buyers from East and Southeast Asia to meet 50 local sellers representing golf courses, spas, boutique hotels, shopping plazas, hospitals and restaurants in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas.

TAT governor Phornsiri Manoharn said airlines operating into the province included Thai Airways International, Nok Air, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, PB Air, One-Two-Go, Silk Air, Tiger Airways, Air Mandalay, Lao Aviation, China Airlines, Korean Air and Hong Kong Express Airways.

She said tourism in the city was growing along with more airline operators, which would promote Chiang Mai as a new destination. The forum was expected to encourage a significant increase in visitors from Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Participants were given a detailed briefing on Chiang Mai as a tourism destination and participated in workshops and business discussions.

From January to June, international and domestic visitor arrivals to Chiang Mai totalled 2,382,147, an 11.83-per-cent increase over the same period of 2006. The average length of stay was 3.53 days, with average daily expenditure per person of Bt2,660.49 which generated tourism revenue of Bt19 billion.

Phornsiri said Chiang Mai, which is a communications, cultural and tourism centre of the North, had undergone considerable economic development but still retained its historic heritage. It was also becoming increasingly well known as a centre of traditional Thai massage, meditation, spas, health and wellness.

"Now the accommodation sector is vastly improved, with new properties ranging from specialist boutique hotels to health and wellness retreats to deluxe resorts," she added.

The growing transport links also include roads. The Asian Highway network now taking shape in Southeast Asia will, in the not too distant future, link Singapore with Kunming, via both Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

The city is also winning international magazine awards for its charm and lifestyle. "Events like last year's Royal Flora Ratchaphruek Hortic-ultural Expo, visited by more than 3 million people, have helped raise the city's international profile," she said.

This year, the government is organising a Royal Initiative Discovery, a project which highlights the sufficiency-economy concept of His Majesty the King in the North.

"The best time to visit Chiang Mai is between May 1 and October 31, when the monsoon rains make the entire North Thailand region lush," the TAT chief said.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation

CHIANG MAI