Maldives' model to be applied for Thai tourism

BANGKOK, June 4 (TNA) - The government plans to apply Maldives’ environmental management to further develop tourist destinations in Thailand to attract more international travellers with high purchasing power. Responding to Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who returned from her three-day official visit to Maldives on Monday, Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Phurisisak acknowledged on Tuesday morning that both Thailand and Maldives possess, comparably, beautiful marine destinations, but Maldives emphasize cleanliness, environmental conservation and tourists’ safety. Somsak told journalists that the prime minister wants Thailand to promote national marine destinations, like Maldives, and his ministry will, thus, promote eco-tourism at such destinations. According to the minister, the development has taken place on several Thai islands, such as the beautiful Chang Islands and the Ang Thong Islands in the southern Surat Thani province, which include the Phaluai Island, considered a green and internationally famous island. The minister said he will discuss the prime minister’s idea with authorities in provinces where there are islands in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has, meanwhile, foreseen that international tourist arrivals in Thailand should reach 25 million by the end of this year, earning the country about 1.6 trillion baht tourism-related revenues. The government hopes that Thailand's tourism-related revenues will then reach 2 trillion baht by 2015 and the administration plans to woo tourists from new sources of markets, namely upscale Indians, Europeans, wealthy Chinese people and those from new countries which were parts of the Soviet Union. (TNA)