Chiang Mai's Tourism to Attract Rock Climbing Enthusiasts

[snoop1130]

 

Tourism operators in Chiang Mai, Thailand, are working to attract the world's 44.5 million rock climbing enthusiasts to the province's impressive mountain landscapes. They are also calling on the government to help encourage this sport throughout Thailand to boost tourism.

 

Punlop Saejew, the acting Tourism Council president of Chiang Mai, recently talked with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin about the potential of the rock climbing market. He suggested that hosting a climbing championship could bring in revenue of at least 1 billion baht.

 

According to the International Federation of Sport Climbing, there are 10.4 million climbers in the US. American visitors are the fifth most common in Chiang Mai.

 

In 2019, the Federation organized a competition in Vail, Colorado that drew about 7,700 participants. People attending these events usually stay for about 20 days, which gives them time to practice before the competition starts. This is an excellent strategy for boosting tourism in lesser-known locations.

 

Punlop said, "If the government wants to promote less crowded destinations, climbing matches the target really well. All regions have suitable mountains for this activity."

 

Besides Chiang Mai, areas that could host rock climbing include Lampang, Krabi, Surat Thani, Trang, Phangnga, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nakhon Ratchasima, Saraburi, Phetchaburi, Lop Buri, and Khon Kaen.

 

For instance, Chiang Mai's Chai Prakan district has five of Thailand's ten deepest caves, offering great climbing opportunities. These sites aren't promoted or developed enough just yet.

 

The local community in Mae On district hopes to get permission to open up its famous limestone cliff for climbing again, following the Prime Minister's order to local authorities to bring back climbing sport tourism.

 

The Crazy Horse Cliff, close to the Muang On Cave, once attracted up to 5,000 climbers annually, generating 300 million baht for the province. But it was closed in 2018 due to a legal issue.

 

Punlop described how its closure affected local communities. “Since the closure, local communities that used to make money from tourists have been impacted quite a bit.”

 

If the government promotes and develops rock climbing sites, it could seriously boost the local economy and attract all kinds of tourists to Chiang Mai and other provinces.

 

File photo for reference only

 

-- 2024-06-19

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

[Gottfrid]

an already visualize a lot of news with falling people. I will be competition to the balcony jumpers.

[happysoul]

Next... skiing !

 

(sorry, had to do, write it) i'm out ->

[Thailand]

Error

Edited June 20 by Thailand

[Pond Life]

While their numbers are just pie in the sky, I think the idea is very good.

The last time I visited Railay Beach, Krabi it was absolutely mobbed with climbers, spreading them out to new sites across the country seems like a great idea.