Free admission to all national parks on Dec 31 and Jan 1st

BANGKOK, 23 December 2014 (NNT)-The Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) will be allowing all visitors to enter all national parks at no charge, as a New Year gift for Thai people.

DNP Director General Samak Donnapee said the purpose of free entry is to encourage people to be friendly toward the environment and to enjoy the nature without destroying it.

According to him, the free entry will be available at all national parks on December 31st to January 1st next year. Mr. Samak added later that national parks have been more crowded each year as more and more people have taken interest in eco-tourism.

He urged tourists to help keep the national parks clean and strictly follow the park officials’ rules. The event will be officially announced at a ceremony held in Khao Yai National Park, on December 25th. A biking event going around the national park will also be held on the same day .


-- NNT 2014-12-23

For me a reason not to go as they will be crowded and I like my space to do my own thing.

But good to get more people out of their chairs and see some of the great sights that are out there.

Not that its expensive anyway, just spent 4 nights camped at Mae Wong NP, 30 b each per night and 30 b for the car.

Will it be four times the freeness for falang?

......it does not say explicitly............. 'to all......Thais and foreigners'........so is it only for Thais???

Honesty at last !

Finally they admit that Thai national parks are overrun by thai tourists who litter everywhere and it's not even worth the price of admission to visit.. But I would have thought putting a higher price on admission would encourage people to value the parks more than it is to allow every drunken freeloader with a pickup truck and stereo in to pollute it for free.

Even if they paid me 4 times the regular price i wouldn't go there. I 'm tired of being extorted in Thailand. Western country's should also ask 4 times the price to Thai/Indonesian/Indian Tourists.

It is pure discrimination against westerners to charge them double/quadriple prices.

Also Thai national parks are not safe, bad management is the cause.

Just spent a week camping in parks around central thailand. 110bt to get me n the gf n bus in nam nao...free the following nights! The guy in sai thong didnt know what to charge us so we gave him 100bt and in mo hin khao it was like being at a rave so we drove uphill n camped on the mountain. Were off to the NW for more cheap camping tomorrow...ill miss the russian karaoke outside my condo....not.

"Samak added later that national parks have been more crowded each year as more and more people have taken interest in eco-tourism."

... and that why after the (day) tourists leave we have a squad collecting all the garbage.

If the free days are anything like the free ones at the ancient city last month you will queue for ages then find nowhere to park, best avoided. They would do better to offer half price.

We stayed in Khao Yai National Park 4 weeks ago and saw people throwing big parties with music blasting until late nights. I mean...National Park is supposed to be a place for local flora and fauna. How much of this gets disrupted with this attitude?

People need education for their responsibilities rather than encouraging more people for 2 days making it a more chaotic place.

Will it be four times the freeness for falang?

double free

Like it wasn't going to be busy enough already.

Now that I know where all the traffic is going, I'll be headed in the opposite direction.

farang can still pay the inflated 10x thai price