UN tourism agency keen on ‘Thai Riviera’ plan, minister says

[Jonathan Fairfield]

UN tourism agency keen on ‘Thai Riviera’ plan, minister says

 

Cha Am beach. Image: TAT

 

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has acknowledged the potential in Thailand promoting its own “Riviera” and will support it, Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said on Thursday.

Weerasak said he took UNWTO secretary general Zurab Pololikashvili on a tour of the coastal provinces that would be involved and he expressed interest in the scheme.

 

The idea is to develop a 220-kilometre stretch of the Gulf coast with international-standard tourist attractions and build double-track railway linking them.

 

New marine tourism routes to the area would be established. Hua Hin Airport has opened to international flights as part of the project.

 

Weerasak said the UNWTO would help out by holding a tourism investment forum in one of the Gulf provinces this year, during which member-nations can view the area.

 

Pololikashvili asked about city planning in the coastal provinces, areas that are designated by law for commercial development, areas that would be secure during monsoon storms, and transportation infrastructure plans.

 

The information will be passed on to member-nations invited to invest in the Thai Riviera, Weerasak said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30347191

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-07

[Darcula]

10 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Thai Riviera

 

Will this one also draw groundwater like the one they closed down on Petchaburi Road?

[ChidlomDweller]

Sounds good... in theory!

 

The reality: taxi maffia, stinky air during peak holiday season, no cultural attractions, charming local villages, or idyllically beautiful nature like you'd have in the Italian or French riviera.

 

That said, I'm often surprised at the failure of countries in the region to grasp this opportunity.  The West coast of India could clean up if they did Mexico did with Cancun.  Likewise Vietnam, Myanmar, etc.  Lots of potential, but the usual short-sightedness of nepotistically appointed incompetents prevents it.

[Eligius]

'Weerasak said he took UNWTO secretary general Zurab Pololikashvili on a tour of the coastal provinces that would be involved and he expressed interest in the scheme.'

 

Thai officialdom loves to speak on behalf of others. We can never trust the accuracy of what they claim others have said. Note that no direct quote from the Secretary General is given. Probably the chap simply said, out of politeness, 'Hmm. Interesting' - and that becomes in Thai minds and mouths: 'The Secretary General is fully supportive and really enthusiastic regarding our tourism scheme'!

 

Edited June 7, 2018 by Eligius

[johng]

Hold on they said before that Pattaya would be the "Thai Riviera" [emoji1]

[KiwiKiwi]

Once more the Thai government speaks on behalf of an agency which is not the Thai government.

 

Who's to say if it is true or not? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

 

Thais have hardly proved themselves to be trustworthy in this respect.

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

The information will be passed on to member-nations invited to invest in the Thai Riviera

So there will be casinos?

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187216-Activities-c53-French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence_Alpes_Cote_d_Azur.html

 

[johng]

So there will be casinos?
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187216-Activities-c53-French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence_Alpes_Cote_d_Azur.html
 

Most likely not.

[KiwiKiwi]

1 minute ago, johng said:

21 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

So there will be casinos?
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187216-Activities-c53-French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence_Alpes_Cote_d_Azur.html
 

Most likely not.

 

It's a brown-envelope-stuffed-with-money thing... cost of doing business with criminals and governments in Thailand.

[johng]

There are loads of "underground" illegal casinos already.

[Boss]

Not a word about how they are going to manage the waste- and sewage...... Same as on the Patthaya side = nothing

[blackcab]

If the Thai government put in all the infrastructure first (water purification/sewage treatment, electricity generation and distribution, high speed internet access, roads, traffic management, railways, hospitals, government offices, police stations, etc.) then it might have a chance at attracting some serious investment.

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, johng said:

There are loads of "underground" illegal casinos already.

Not sure what the existence of illegal "casinos" has to do with developing a Thai Riviera.

Some of those so-called casinos are a couple rooms in a condo, backroom or basement. And most certainly do not pay taxes. They do not attract tourists in general.

I'm sure "underground" illegal casinos are nothing like legal casinos such as the international casino powerhouses one would expect to see in a Riviera setting. We're not talking Walking Street.

 

Marina Bay Sands Casino (Singapore) generates over $1 billion a year.

Las Vegas casinos generate an average of over $630,000 a day.

The Macau legal casino hub generates $3.2 billion.

The Bahamian casino industry collectively generates around $146 million in annual revenues.

The bottom line is that with legal casinos in a Riviera setting there is potential to generate large earnings for the State that can finance its populist programs, infrastructure and payoff government debt.

 

[fakename]

Looks like Thailand just fishing for some money. Once the money comes, then the development stops.

[DrTuner]

I've never been to the Riviera. Does it look something like this?

 

 

Because that's how Thailand will look soon unless they slam the gates closed.

[Cadbury]

8 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

The idea is to develop a 220-kilometre stretch of the Gulf coast

The equivalent of a 220km long Pattaya with a 20km long Walking Street and a 3km Soi 7 and a 3 rai Boyz Town. That should pull 'em in. What about the much rumoured casinos?

[DrTuner]

5 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

The equivalent of a 220km long Pattaya with a 20km long Walking Street and a 3km Soi 7 and a 3 rai Boyz Town. That should pull 'em in. 

I think they can also simulate the constant traffic jams around the entire area without much effort.

[neeray]

Better clean up the beaches before the member-nations come to take a look. 

[MRToMRT]

UNWTO ? Never heard of it before.

 

 

[mok199]

wow ''Miami and the Riviera'' all in one..sounds marvelous

[InfinityandBeyond]

25 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

UNWTO ? Never heard of it before.

 

 

Me too. But apparently it exists. 

http://www2.unwto.org/content/who-we-are-0

 

"UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, to maximize tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development worldwide."

 

Good luck Thailand given the highlighted text. 

 

[Eligius]

31 minutes ago, InfinityandBeyond said:

Me too. But apparently it exists. 

http://www2.unwto.org/content/who-we-are-0

 

"UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, to maximize tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development worldwide."

 

Good luck Thailand given the highlighted text. 

 

Yes, we all know about the wonderful ethics of Thai tourism: remember the rape and double murder of British tourists on Koh Tao - carried out (as many of us are convinced) by a filthy rich, untouchable Thai student who was studying (wait for it - I kid you not) - 'Tourism and Hospitality' ...

 

Edited June 7, 2018 by Eligius

[InfinityandBeyond]

3 minutes ago, Eligius said:

Yes, we all know about the wonderful ethics of Thai tourism: remember the rape and double murder of British tourists on Koh Tao - carried out (as many of us are convinced) by a filthy rich, untouchable student studying (wait for it) - Tourism and Hospitality!

Don't forget the jetski/motosai/parasailing scams. 

As well as the dumping of raw sewage onto the beaches of "World Class Family Nature Resorts," encroachment of national nature reserves and "dump at will" fly tips on public and private land, coastlines awash with rubbish.  

It's PARADISE!!!

We have a water filter at home that removes sediment and microbes. But I wonder how much toxic waste is leached into the drinking water supply  (e.g. heavy metals from batteries or other sources, pseudo-hormones from plastics and PPCPs, cleaning products etc.) that is not filtered out. 

I read somewhere that Thailand has the highest incidence of liver cancer in the world. Will try to find the article. But wouldn't surprise me. 

[neeray]

2 minutes ago, InfinityandBeyond said:

Don't forget the jetski/motosai/parasailing scams. 

As well as the dumping of raw sewage onto the beaches of "World Class Family Nature Resorts," encroachment of national nature reserves and "dump at will" fly tips on public and private land, coastlines awash with rubbish.  

It's PARADISE!!!

We have a water filter at home that removes sediment and microbes. But I wonder how much toxic waste is leached into the drinking water supply  (e.g. heavy metals from batteries or other sources, pseudo-hormones from plastics and PPCPs, cleaning products etc.) that is not filtered out. 

I read somewhere that Thailand has the highest incidence of liver cancer in the world. Will try to find the article. But wouldn't surprise me. 

Just a question/thought. Could the high rate of liver cancer be connected to alcohol consumption ? Both probably.

[DrTuner]

6 minutes ago, neeray said:

Just a question/thought. Could the high rate of liver cancer be connected to alcohol consumption ? Both probably.

It's probably the liver flukes in uncooked plaraa. That stuff is toxic. And often used in somtam plaraa. Enjoy the food and remember to give a five star review in TripAdvisor when in chemo, so exotic!

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/asia/26iht-thailand.html

 

Edited June 7, 2018 by DrTuner
Added link

[InfinityandBeyond]

3 minutes ago, neeray said:

Just a question/thought. Could the high rate of liver cancer be connected to alcohol consumption ? Both probably.

Could be. But I would hazard a guess that males drink more alcohol than females here (both in quantity and frequency). Yet, incidence of liver cancer seems to affect both genders almost equally if I recall correctly. In any case, let me dig up the study. I may be wrong or there may be multiple contributing factors. 

[InfinityandBeyond]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

It's probably the liver flukes in uncooked plaraa. That stuff is toxic. And often used in somtam plaraa. Enjoy the food and remember to give a five star review in TripAdvisor when in chemo, so exotic!

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/asia/26iht-thailand.html

 

Looks like liver flukes come in a close second after viral Hep B infections. Though this study is dated.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12718642/?i=1&from=/12718642/related

Excerpt from abstract: 

"The estimated incidence of primary liver cancer in Thailand is very high, Liver cancer is the leading cancer in males and third in frequency in females. There is a very marked regional variation, with the highest incidence in the northeast, the age - standardized incidence rate of liver cancer in Khon Kaen is highest in the world. "

And, "In Thailand, chronic infections with hepatitis B virus and the liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini are the major risk factors for the development of HCC and CCA, respectively."

[lamyai3]

17 hours ago, johng said:

Hold on they said before that Pattaya would be the "Thai Riviera"

Monte Carlo or Bust... Brigitte Bardot topless sunbathing in San Tropez sixty years ago... Can't really see it happening anytime soon.