Thailand To Be Promoted As Greater Mekong Subregion's Sustainable Tourism Hub

[webfact]

Thailand to be promoted as Greater Mekong Subregion's sustainable tourism hub

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's Tourism and Sports Ministry will promote the country as the sustainable tourism hub of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), thanks to the continually increasing number of tourists in the area.

Seksan Nakwong, director of Tourism and Sports Ministry's Tourism Development Office, said Tuesday that a recent seminar resulted increased tourism cooperation under the GMS's development project to connect travel business between Thailand and the Lao PDR, and Thailand and Vietnam.

He said the travel industry in the GMS area has lately expanded rapidly. A great number of worldwide tourists annually visit the region and the figure tends to continually rise.

According to statistics from World Tourism Organisation (WTO), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and tourism reports from GMS countries, 16 million foreign travellers visited the region in 2002, rising to 22.4 million in 2006. This year, tourist numbers are expected to increase to 30 million, while 52 million are projected in 2015.

Thailand would benefit most from Mekong subregional tourism, Mr Seksan said. "It has the highest potential to attract tourists, and it is the tourism leader in the front line of Asia -- the region with the highest economic growth."

Mr Seksan said Asia is the second most popular destination following Europe, and is the continent of which tourism has expanded the most.

Factors affecting the increasing numbers of foreign travellers to the region are natural tourist attractions, local hospitality, food, cultural tourism, historic buildings and places listed as world heritage sites by UNESCO such as Cambodia's Angkor Wat, the former Lao royal capital of Luang Prabang, and Thailand's historic Sukhothai and Ayutthaya.

Cooperation in tourism is among the ways GMS members mutually support their governments' policies to jointly develop the subregion for sustainable economic growth. The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) comprises Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2010-07-27

[bkkjames]

I was going through some recent 'Hub" withdrawal : thanks for the much needed pick me up Webfact.

[AleG]

They have it upside down, first you become a country were sustainable tourism is practiced, then you can become a "hub" or reference model for it.

I've been around Thailand quite a bit and frankly sustainable is pretty much the opposite adjective I'd use on most tourism ventures. Resorts swarm areas like locusts, transforming what originally was a natural environment that drew people in into another overdeveloped, and decaying spot.

[Piengrudee]

LAOS will make a better hub.

[dumball]

Amazing Thailand , kind of amusing in the same breath .

Suddenly the despicable neighbours have become valuable allies in persute of the almighty dollar , what I would term "Grasping at straws " in a last round of desperation to hang on tooth+nail to the dwindling tourism numbers they have been slowly but surely driving to other , more friendly destinations .

[Pushit]

Vietnam is going to kick Thai tourism ass, forget Hubs!

[TerraPosse]

LAOS will make a better hub.

Not just will...it is already leading as far as sustainable tourism goes (and yes, I know many may think of sustainable tourism as an oxymoron  ).

Thailand would be the last place to come to mind when looking for sustainable or ecological 'anything' really.   

[kuffki]

Ha Ha Ha, sorry could not help myself

Was to be promoted as marriage destination, then arab, the indian, then family, then "sorry forgot" too many for 1 year and now this.

I wonder what would be next, Hub for what????

Edited July 27, 2010 by kuffki

[wileycoyote]

I agree ,where would this Thai hub be located ,obviously not Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai as there are not enough direct airservices to Laos & Vietnam ,from either.

Would Bangkok be the hub ?

Edited July 27, 2010 by wileycoyote

[souvenirdeparis]

by "sustainable tourism" he probably means : tourists that will come on a regular basis, hopefully forever, and that will allow locals to thrive on .

He can't give the word the "eco-friendly". meaning

I was in Chon Buri in 2007, have they taken away yet the thick carpet of plastic bags half full of kao pat that covered the beach (I think they called it that, "beach")?

[souvenirdeparis]

hey, hub, change the ball-bearing, it clonks and smokes .

[EyesWideOpen]

Ex-pats all over Thailand are fighting to keep from falling out of their chairs laughing every time the Thai government uses the word hub.

If Thailand will actually admit that tourism is important ( stop using that silly 6 % of GDP that they love), then it is time to actually do something 

about it. You want guests to come ? Clean your house, so the guests will return home and say what a wonderful time they had.....

Stop the endless shakedowns and corrupt activities, stop the seemingly endless crimes that occur on a daily basis, and control  the 

wheeled thieves otherwise known as taxi drivers..THEN call yourself a hub, and invite people in. Stop wasting money on those moronic 

" Amazing Thailand" road shows, and spend the money on cleaning things up !!!! Every tourist that comes here and has a good time 

( meaning he was not beaten by Thais in a bar, drugged by bar girls, etc. etc. ), is in effect a free good will ambassador promoting Thailand

to every one he knows back how. I just came from Laos, and it was packed with tourists.  Hmmmmm....

[Seanextra]

Ex-pats all over Thailand are fighting to keep from falling out of their chairs laughing every time the Thai government uses the word hub.

If Thailand will actually admit that tourism is important ( stop using that silly 6 % of GDP that they love), then it is time to actually do something

about it. You want guests to come ? Clean your house, so the guests will return home and say what a wonderful time they had.....

Stop the endless shakedowns and corrupt activities, stop the seemingly endless crimes that occur on a daily basis, and control the

wheeled thieves otherwise known as taxi drivers..THEN call yourself a hub, and invite people in. Stop wasting money on those moronic

" Amazing Thailand" road shows, and spend the money on cleaning things up !!!! Every tourist that comes here and has a good time

( meaning he was not beaten by Thais in a bar, drugged by bar girls, etc. etc. ), is in effect a free good will ambassador promoting Thailand

to every one he knows back how. I just came from Laos, and it was packed with tourists. Hmmmmm....

Yes Amazing , they still dont seem to understand ! As far as i am concerned Thailand requires a shakeup in many areas maybe lack of tourism might make them see where they are going wrong as most people have pointed out WORD OF MOUTH is the best sales pitch anything can hope to attract and even if people had a good time here im sure they would also point out the bad points and they could list a few im sure , about the only real attraction all things aside is value for money and if there is a worsening exchange rate and outdated facilities and poorer service i bet my dollar someone will prefer to go elsewhere maybe LAOS or Vietnam better service and better exchange rate !

[Mauric42]

"Greater Mekong Subregion's sustainable tourism hub".

How can anyone think up a phrase like that? Please tell me this is a joke. Please. I looked at the calendar and it's not April 1st. So maybe there's some other explanation?... The gun is raised to my head. Please tell me there's some rational explanation for people who can dream up garbage like this...

No?

Oh dear, too late.

BANG.

Falang he dead.

[ding]

All hub, no tire meeting the road.

Like fake Texas cowboy Goerge Bush, all hat no cattle.

Until Thai Air has government subsidized airfare there will be no tourism boom.

Edited July 27, 2010 by ding

[animatic]

"Greater Mekong Subregion's sustainable tourism hub".

How can anyone think up a phrase like that? Please tell me this is a joke. Please. I looked at the calendar and it's not April 1st. So maybe there's some other explanation?... The gun is raised to my head. Please tell me there's some rational explanation for people who can dream up garbage like this...

No?

Oh dear, too late.

BANG.

Falang he dead.

Only an nontenured bureaucrat would come up with this

Greater Mekong Subregion's sustainable tourism hub

GMSSTH just rolls off the tounge doesn't it?

Mekong Industrial Sub-region, Sustainable Energy Deployment Integration & Tourism Hub

M I S S E D I T

Mekong Subregional Hub for International Tourism Sustainability

Mekong S.H.I.T.S.

Mekong Sub Region Sustainable Tourist Hub

MekSubRegSusTouhub

Center for South East Asian Tourism

CenSEAT

Sorry there ain't much to work with here.... bloody bureaucrats

South East Asian Toursist Sex Hub

'SEATS for everyone!'

I bet they could sell this one,

wonder why no one thought of it before.

Edited July 27, 2010 by animatic

[souvenirdeparis]

If one is in BKK just now with just a free visa on arrival, how does he get

_a visa to Kamputcha and back ? how long may he stay in Kamputcha? Don't the army shoot you if you arrive from BKK due to the present dispute ?

-a visa to Burma .

Is it any safe traveling on one's own to Burma by land from Mae Hong Sorn now ?

-has anyone been to one of the many Burmese islands that can be seen on the maps ?

How can they promote a hub and have border skirmishes at Wat Preah Vinhar ?

[jayjay0]

Ex-pats all over Thailand are fighting to keep from falling out of their chairs laughing every time the Thai government uses the word hub.

If Thailand will actually admit that tourism is important ( stop using that silly 6 % of GDP that they love), then it is time to actually do something

about it. You want guests to come ? Clean your house, so the guests will return home and say what a wonderful time they had.....

Stop the endless shakedowns and corrupt activities, stop the seemingly endless crimes that occur on a daily basis, and control the

wheeled thieves otherwise known as taxi drivers..THEN call yourself a hub, and invite people in. Stop wasting money on those moronic

" Amazing Thailand" road shows, and spend the money on cleaning things up !!!! Every tourist that comes here and has a good time

( meaning he was not beaten by Thais in a bar, drugged by bar girls, etc. etc. ), is in effect a free good will ambassador promoting Thailand

to every one he knows back how. I just came from Laos, and it was packed with tourists. Hmmmmm....

You have some good points but you also have some misinformation.

misinformation

1 I have lived here for over 4 years. I have friends who have been here for as long as 18 years. None of us has ben beaten by Thais in a bar or drugged by bar girls etc. etc. etc.

2 I am not sure what you mean by wheeled thieves other wise none as taxi drivers. My wife and I use one quite often and it is a lot cheaper than back in Canada. If you want a cheap taxi ride go to Bali. I still can't figure out how they make any money.

Now for the excellent points

If Thailand will actually admit that tourism is important ( stop using that silly 6 % of GDP that they love), then it is time to actually do something about it.

You want guests to come ? Clean your house, so the guests will return home and say what a wonderful time they had.....

Stop the endless shakedowns and corrupt activities, stop the seemingly endless crimes that occur on a daily basis,

actually I do think most of them do return home and claim hey had a wonderful time. But as in any country on planet earth there are exceptions. And to be perfectly honest Thailand probably gets a few more people abused in bars than most countries. What do you expect with the doors open policy on sex that they are famous for.

Another point you might add is when a tourist is ripped off have the police actually do some thing about it. They might not be able to but if they try the tourist will not be so bitter.

[lounger]

16 million foreign travellers visited the region in 2002, rising to 22.4 million in 2006. This year, tourist numbers are expected to increase to 30 million, while 52 million are projected in 2015.

Thailand becoming a tourist hub is wishful thinking, rather like the figure above projecting the region getting 52 million tourists. I guess the stats relate to the greater Mekong subregion region but Thailand could fancifully claim it as suggesting there will be a massive influx of Tourists to Thailand

..........ha ha ha

[souvenirdeparis]

including day-tripping Laotians definitely enhanced the figure .

Adding undocumented Burmese workers was a smart decision statistics-wise.

They might add the re-located Hmong refugees this year to reach the 30 millions ;after all they did cross the Mekhong .

[SiriusBlack1]

Man, you can't make this stuff up.

How about a "rampant, corrupt, unplanned overdevelopment and strangulation of the golden goose" hub? That would make more sense.

[zzaa09]

Rhetoric. Thai-style. Seems to me that it's quite obvious that the Thai tourism and hospitality establishment is just beginning to wake-up to the rising and solid tourism competition in the region. Naturally, they feel that the honour of top-dog hangs in the balance towards the next decade......the neighbors are stable {even Burma, suppressed as they are} and the flow is gradually changing.

[jackr]

Vietnam is going to kick Thai tourism ass, forget Hubs!

Plenty of potential although they need a lot more infrastructure.

I've heard the market vendors tell you to go <deleted> yourself if you don't buy?

I wonder what would be next, Hub for what????

Hub of hubs.

[siampolee]

A Hub for Hub Caps may well be a viable scheme next you know.

[Thai at Heart]

Lovely how they can appoint and nominate themselves for a title without any consultation with the "Mekong Subregion".

Isn't it still 15 days at overland crossings for tourists???? Do these people ever travel around the Mekong Subregion? If the immigration rules were enforced completely, i.e. return tickets and available cash, no one would ever consider using Bangkok as the starting and ending point of their trip at all.

The wheel is wonky, so how can there be a hub? Maybe they are expecting an increase of red shirt militants going between across the border to Cambodia and want to consider this some kind of hub status.

Hub of hiding runaway fugitives. Nice.

[toybits]

I am REALLY optimistic about this. This is great! A new catchy word. First Eco-tourism, then responsible tourism, now Sustainable Tourism. Sounds good. The Longneck Karen are still being exploited, the Akha children have become beggars within their own villages, The tourists are harrassed by villagers trying to sell souvenirs because their tour operator that took them there does not pay an entrance fee to the community.

Oh! Did I memtion the Longneck Karen? Did you know that there are NO indigenous Longneck Karen (Padaung) in Thailand? All of them were imported into Thailand to be like animals in a zoo. I apoligize for the analogy, but there is no better way to describe it. Think again before visiting a Longneck Karen (Padaung) village.

[bkkjames]

Bangkok Hoteliers will tell you that Sustainable Tourism has nothing to do with environment. 

[animatic]

I am REALLY optimistic about this. This is great! A new catchy word. First Eco-tourism, then responsible tourism, now Sustainable Tourism. Sounds good. The Longneck Karen are still being exploited, the Akha children have become beggars within their own villages, The tourists are harrassed by villagers trying to sell souvenirs because their tour operator that took them there does not pay an entrance fee to the community.

Oh! Did I memtion the Longneck Karen? Did you know that there are NO indigenous Longneck Karen (Padaung) in Thailand? All of them were imported into Thailand to be like animals in a zoo. I apoligize for the analogy, but there is no better way to describe it. Think again before visiting a Longneck Karen (Padaung) village.

Of course most bar girls are not indigenous to Pattaya, they import them from Issan.

And put them on display, and don't always charge admission at the door, and if they do,

don't pay that to the girls.... We know this place is filled with truly exploitive people.

Not all of course, but too many

Edited July 28, 2010 by animatic

[123ace]

Let them dream - its keeps prices cheap.

[sunanta]

Amazing Thailand , kind of amusing in the same breath .

Suddenly the despicable neighbours have become valuable allies in persute of the almighty dollar , what I would term "Grasping at straws " in a last round of desperation to hang on tooth+nail to the dwindling tourism numbers they have been slowly but surely driving to other , more friendly destinations .

lets not forget the 15 day visa rule.........coupled with the 500 baht a day over stay....give these rules a year or two more to really discourage the tourists,,,,,an should someone thats been here less then 15 days feed an elephant and drop his cigarette????? do you really think they'll come back??? no longer the land of smiles......