• TOURISM & CULTURE
  • ADVERTISEMENT

Latest News

  • Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
  • The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi
  • Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ medicine for Covid-19 in Presence of Union Minister Harsh Vardhan
  • Buddhism, bollywood, business can expand people-to-people engagement between India, Singapore: Goyal
  • When the Dalai Lama Dies, His Reincarnation Will Be a Religious Crisis. Here’s What Could Happen
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
  • BUDDHIST HISTORY
    • BUDDHISM MESSAGES
    • Message by PM Narendra Modi
  • BUDDHIST CIRCUIT
  • BUDDHIST MONKS
  • MONASTRIES
  • BODH GAYA
  • MCLEOD GANJ

Thailand Eyes Luxury Tourists, Keep Them Safe

Mar 31, 2016 Shyamal Sinha, New Delhi ALSO IN THE NEWS Comments Off on Thailand Eyes Luxury Tourists, Keep Them Safe


also-in-the-newsTourist in asian country looking for safe destination either it is adventure tourism or luxury tourism people want when they finished the trip going back to their homes with happiness in their hearts.Thailand needs to do more to keep its tourists safe if it wants to achieve its objective of attracting more high-end travelers, operators say, or it risks losing out to its up-and-coming neighbors.

With its palm-fringed beaches, Buddhist culture and racy nightlife, Thailand has been the poster child for Asian tourism for decades, attracting a range of visitors from backpackers and adventure-seekers, to families and culture vultures.

In recent years, increasing numbers of Chinese tourists have joined the mix. But dark clouds could be forming even as a record 32 million tourists are expected this year.

The industry, which accounts for 10 percent of gross domestic product, has been resilient to political upheaval over the last decade that has included violent street protests and military coups.

Even a deadly 2015 bomb attack on a Bangkok shrine popular with tourists failed to dent arrivals to any discernable degree.

But crime and accidents, and the perception Thailand is becoming a mass market, could pose a bigger threat to the government plan.

The murder of two British tourists in 2014 hit world headlines. This month, two French women filed complaints of rape.

Woeful road safety, accidents at sea, scams and even angry elephants have added to what seems like a never-ending litany of bad news.

“Visitor volume is high but with that the probability of crime also increases,” Surapong Techaruwichit, chairman of the Hotel Association of Thailand,.

“We need to reassure tourists that Thailand is safe.”

The government’s Tourism Authority now wants to focus on “quality tourism”, and has launched a campaign to attract visitors who spend more, and hopefully stay out of trouble.

“Many people say tourists come here because it is a cheap destination. This needs to change,” Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told a tourist safety workshop last week.’

But luring more discerning travelers might not be so easy.

“If we want to attract the high end we need to reassure them. Meeting our target luxury-traveler target will be harder after the recent negative publicity,” said Surapong.

The figures can be frightening.

Fourteen U.S. citizens died of unnatural causes in Thailand from January to June 2015, higher than the 11 who died in France, a top destination for U.S. tourists, according to U.S. State Department figures.

Thailand had the second-highest number of deaths of British nationals in 2014 after Spain, which is the top holiday spot for Britons, British Foreign Office figures show.

Major General Surachet Hakphan, commander of the Tourist Police, says things will change. The men and women in his division will focus on safety, he said.

“Elephants trampling on tourists and tourists having their legs cut off by speed boats, this won’t happen any more,” , referring to two recent fatal accidents.

Jason Friedman, managing director at J.M. Friedman & Co. – Bespoke Hospitality Services, said despite the bad news, Thailand had managed to preserve its image as a holiday paradise.

“People want to believe Thailand is a great place and nothing goes wrong here – this is a perception that works in our favor,”

For Friedman, who focuses on the high-end, the bigger risk is the volume of arrivals creates the impression that Thailand has become a mass market. Or as Friedman puts it: industrial tourism.

“The industrial-strength tourism will push people away. Tourist  have started looking for remote beaches in Cambodia or Myanmar,

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

  • tweet
Bhutan Plants 108,000 Trees to Celebrate Birth of Crown Prince Chinese marriage pressure as divorce rate climbs

Related articles
  • Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
    Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists...

    Feb 25, 2021 Comments Off on Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan

  • The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi
    The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara...

    Feb 23, 2021 Comments Off on The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi

  • Buddha statue at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
    Buddha statue at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

    Feb 22, 2021 Comments Off on Buddha statue at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

  • Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ medicine for Covid-19 in Presence of Union Minister Harsh Vardhan
    Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’...

    Feb 20, 2021 Comments Off on Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ medicine for Covid-19 in Presence of Union Minister Harsh Vardhan

More in this category
  • Tibetan Elections: Preliminary round results and fallout
    Tibetan Elections: Preliminary round...

    Feb 09, 2021 Comments Off on Tibetan Elections: Preliminary round results and fallout

  • Urge India to refrain from complicating situation along border, says China
    Urge India to refrain from complicating...

    Jan 25, 2021 Comments Off on Urge India to refrain from complicating situation along border, says China

  • Buddhist Eco-monks and Tree Ordination
    Buddhist Eco-monks and Tree Ordination

    Dec 31, 2020 Comments Off on Buddhist Eco-monks and Tree Ordination

  • Mount Everest is now 8,848.86 metres tall after measurement
    Mount Everest is now 8,848.86 metres...

    Dec 09, 2020 Comments Off on Mount Everest is now 8,848.86 metres tall after measurement


Copyright budhisttimes.news 2019-20 | All Rights Reserved
Developed & Maintained By Shyamal Sinha Web Design Delhi Web Design Agency in Delhi Web Desinging Services in India Best Website Portfolio Creative Website Desinging Agency in Delhi Web Desinging Comapny India Custom Web Application Development Comapny Wordpress Website Designing Logo Desinging in Delhi Internet Marketing Company Mobile Application Development
  • TECH & SCIENCE
  • BUDDHIST ART/MUSIC
  • UPCOMING PROGRAM