Pattaya officials mixed stops at a Norwegian city hall and Danish incinerator with sightseeing at historical spots on a nine-day government-paid junket intended to improve their understanding of tourism’s impact on the environment.
The April 24-May 1 visit to Norway and Denmark followed a two-day workshop in Pattaya organized by Burapha University on “Development of Potential and Visions” at which bureaucrats were told they needed to do a better job mitigating the impact of tourism and industry on the environment. The Scandinavian trip offered the administrators a chance to see how city management is done in Europe.
Burapha lecturer Vichien Tansirikhongkol details the administrators’ visit to Europe.
At a May 2 wrap-up meeting, Burapha lecturer Vichien Tansirikhongkol detailed the administrators’ visit to Oslo City Hall where the Thais heard presentations on city planning and management, tourism and the environment.
City planning took a backseat to snapshot-taking the next day, however, as the travelers visited a Viking boat museum and toured historical and cultural landmarks under the premise it was part of their understanding of European tourism industry.
More tourist spots were visited as the junket continued on to Denmark before the Thais got back down to more-mundane business, visiting a high-voltage electric trash-to-energy incinerator in Copenhagen. There they observed garbage separation and heat management at the power plant.
Pattaya has been attempting to build a trash-to-energy plant for more than two years.
