Tourism Promoted In Trat

[george]

Tourism promoted in Trat

TRAT: -- Thailand’s tourist authorities are promoting the eastern province of Trat as a gateway to the neighbouring countries of Indochina.

Since last December’s tsunami disaster hit the six southern coastal provinces, the number of foreign tourists visiting the province bordering Cambodia has risen by about 20%.

The state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has had its budget increased to help promote tourism after the government made Koh Chang (Chang Island) an extraordinary area for sustainable tourism, a senior provincial TAT official, Chuchart On-charoen told TNA.

The TAT plans to promote special tourism activities in the province focused on forest trekking and touring Cambodia, southern Vietnam, Laos and China. The local authorities want to make Trat a gateway to Indochina, he said.

Tourist visitors to Trat are expected to significantly increase after Bangkok Airways starts flights between Trat and Koh Samui in November. The airline currently operates three daily flights between Bangkok and Trat.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Trat has increased noticeably after the tsunami disaster, Mr, Chuchart said. Some 730,000 tourists visited the resort province in 2004, an increase of nearly 15% compared to 2003. Revenue from tourism increased by more than 30% to around three billion baht, he added.

--TNA 2005-04-24