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Thailand’s Riviera shapes up

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BANGKOK, 29 June, 2018: The Tourism Authority of Thailand will spearhead a marketing push in four coastal provinces dubbed the “Thailand Riviera,” under the government’s latest policy to diversify tourism to secondary destinations.

Under a master plan, prepared by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the project identifies coastal provinces Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Ranong.

The policy direction is outlined in the National Tourism Development Plan, created to distribute income from tourism, nationwide, to provide better accessibility and improve facilities and services for visitors.

The Master Plan identifies diverse tourism assets in the four provinces:

25 national parks and water parks;
528 Km of coastline;
37 beaches, 10 bays, and 25 islands;
70 Royal Projects and Royal Initiatives;
Six community-based tourism projects.

Hua Hin is the best-known beach resort in the region being Thailand’s first beach resort dating back to the early 1900s when it was popular with Bangkok’s wealthy residents.

Under the plan airports at Hua Hin, Chumphon and Ranong would require upgrades.  Air Asia is the only commercial airline flying to Hua Hin, 200 km south of Bangkok on the western coast of the Gulf of Thailand.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Weerasak Kowsurat, met with Chotenarin Kerdsom, deputy governor of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Somchai Bumrungsap, deputy governor of Phetchaburi province and representatives from various government agencies to outline the strategy and steps required to launch the “ Thailand Riviera” project, earlier this month.

It will start with infrastructure development such as establishing a sustainable fresh water supply and introducing safeguards to prevent conflicts between agriculture and tourism sectors that need to share water resources.

Specific niche-market projects will include development of the Thailand Riviera as a “Global Health Tourism Hub”, organisation of sporting events for golf, tennis, shopping festivals, and summer education courses.

The plan has been on the cards for decades and fielded by various governments in the past. But implementation was delayed due to repeated changes in government.

It was originally approved by the Thai Cabinet, 7 February, 2006 and again, 26 August, 2014, when the Ministry of Tourism and Sports was given the responsibility of executing the plan.

Under the current Prayut Chan-ocha government, the plan was again approved, 6 March 2018, at the mobile Cabinet meeting in Phetchaburi province.

One important part of the project is the on-going construction of a scenic 680 km highway from Bangkok, which runs directly along the coast. The highway, which will include bike lanes, should be completed in five years. About 200 kilometres has been completed and another 49 km stretch is under construction.

In 2017, the four provinces received a total of 14,023,347 Thai and foreign visitors, a rise of 4.52% year-on-year. The average expenditure per trip per person was THB5,141, generating an estimated  THB72.105 billion in tourism income (+8.85% year-on-year).

(Source: TAT)

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