Thailand looks to sustainable tourism: 17-10-2007
While Thailand has seen tourism grow massively over the past decade, the current Thai Tourism Minister Suvhit Yodmani is looking to move away from the mass market in the face of environmental concerns for his country.
Last year, 13.8 million people travelled to Thailand, up from 7.7 million in 1997, but Mr Yodmani has said that the numbers are impacting on the environment and it is time adopt a more responsible approach to tourism.
Speaking to eTN, minister Yodmani said: "It is true that I have the impression that we are riding a horse going down the wrong path. And I have to try to revert its course. The problem with Thailand has been the development of mass tourism for the last five decades.
"We have to change course today if we want to preserve the environment. It is true that this entails taking some sacrifices, but it is worth doing it."
He said that he was facing some resistance to his sustainable tourism policy, with interested parties arguing that Vietnam will double its arrivals and overtake Thailand in terms of tourism, but that is of less concern to him than the environment.
"In some of our most famous seaside resorts, we already have to pay for the damage on our ecosystem because of garbage getting into the sea," Mr Yodmani said. "And to clean the sea entails a lot of human resources."
Talking of the future, the minister said: "I selected one province to be a model for low emission tourism activities. The Sukhothai area seems to be ideal. Not only is the site listed on the UNESCO World Heritage, but I know that the governor of the Sukhothai province is keen on this project and will continue once I leave the ministry.
"Sukhothai will have bikes for visitors to go around the province, implement garbage recycling programs, plant trees to provide fresher air at tourism sites. We will also foster community tourism where foreign visitors will be able to experience people's daily life.
"The model will then be replicated in other places in Thailand, most probably in the south of the country. I expect to see some more provinces showing their interest."
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