Designated Areas For Sustainable Tourism Admin

[Jai Dee]

REPORT: THE ROLE OF DASTA

“Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration”, or also known as DASTA, has been set up in accordance with the royal decree in 2003. The mission of DASTA is to integrate the tourism developments in designated areas under the government’s policy and regulation. The designated areas will be overlooked, preserved, and renovated. The quality of tourism products and services will also be developed to meet global standards, so that they will be able to compete with other tourism destinations abroad.

According to the Cabinet, “DASTA is a public organization that has been established under the royal decree of September 13th, 2003. Its purpose is to sustain tourism in various designated areas in Thailand.”

The Thai government aims DASTA to be an organization that enables officials to help out the local, regional and national agencies. Notably, it will integrate and support various developments in different areas simultaneously and correspondingly.

Therefore, DASTA will act as a central role in implementing the master plans for different designated areas. The government will determine various activities and other related functions for DASTA to implement. The government will coordinate with the public, communities and concerned units at all levels. Then it will integrate them and formulate a master plan. The master plan will then be proposed to the Cabinet for consideration as well as for budget allocation, prior to the plan’s implementation. More importantly, DASTA will continuously administer tourists who visit the designated areas.

DASTA will look over the areas where natural environments and surroundings are in excellent conditions, and the civilizations are invaluable and portray national history. The government of Thailand wants to sustain these tourism sites through conserving and renovating their natural resources. Tourism businesses in those destinations will also be augmented to meet international standards. More jobs and benefits will be dispersed throughout the local communities at all levels. In addition, DASTA will promote the locals to value and cherish their vicinities, in order for them to conserve their surroundings in a sustainable manner. The designated areas’ competitiveness will then be upgraded to an international level, physically and biologically.

The designated areas require three criterions. Firstly, the natural environments and surroundings of those areas must be in superb conditions, which primarily comprise of Thailand's national parks and world’s inherited destinations. Secondly, the destinations’ cultural and traditional customs are of national importance, such as Ayutthaya and Sukhothai. The third requirement includes the areas that have been solely developed for tourism purposes, such as the night safari in Chiang Mai Province, where it has gathered various animals within Thailand and abroad for sightseeing purpose.

At the moment, two destinations have been officially declared as designated areas in Thailand, namely Chang Archipelago and Chiang Mai Night Safari. Chang Island Group consists of 52 islands, with a total area of 2,480 cubic kilometers. It has been selected due to its breathtaking natural environment, which is deemed to be the best in the world. Meanwhile, Samet Archipelago in Rayong Province and Tua-Ngok Peninsula in Kanchanaburi Province are two prospective designated areas. Certain areas in the southern, northern and northeastern regions will also be proposed in the future.

Source: thaisnews.com ประจำวันเสาร์ที่ 22 ตุลาคม 2548