CHIANG MAI, 3 January 2014 The Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association has unveiled a plan to map out new tourism routes which will connect Northern Thailand with Laos, China and Myanmar and help boost the local trade and tourism.
President of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association Sarawut Saetiao said the association had been holding discussions with the local private sector and government units about the launching of new transnational tourism routes in the region. The routes will link eight northern provinces of Thailand with Northern Laos, Southern China and Myanmar. Local trade, tourism and investment are expected to prosper as a result.
During this New Year holiday, Chiang Mai province has seen notable increases in the numbers of Thai and Chinese visitors, with the tourism revenue for the period expected to grow 10%.
As for the national goal to achieve an annual tourism income of 2.2 trillion baht in the year 2015, the association is confident that Chiang Mai and other provinces in the North will be able to contribute up to 80 billion baht of the amount.
