BANGKOK, 29 May 2012 – The private sector is content at the level of importance the government has given to the country’s tourism; however, they are concerned about the establishment of tourism development measures.
Chairman of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) Sitdiwat Cheevarattanaporn has disclosed that he has met with Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Nivatthamrong Boonsongpaisal to discuss ways to promote Thailand’s tourism in order to achieve the government’s target of 30 million tourists and a revenue of 2 trillion baht in 2015. In response, ATTA will initially improve the standards of its members’ services as well as analyze the pros and cons of Thai tourism in overseas markets, taking into consideration the country’s new competitor, Myanmar, who possesses similar natural resources to Thailand’s.
However, Mr. Sitdiwat said that the establishment of tourism development measures is still a cause for concern, especially the integration between government agencies. He suggested that the National Tourism Policy Council, comprising of representatives from government agencies, should be in charge of establishing and implementing measures to develop the country’s tourism, while the Prime Minister should be at the head of the panel.
The public and private sectors will be meeting in a workshop, presided by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, on 17 June to discuss the matter again.
