ID :
371743
Fri, 06/19/2015 - 15:05
Auther :

NZ to boost tourism, education cooperation with Thailand

BANGKOK, June 19 (TNA) - New Zealand eyes to be a promising tourism destination for Thais and also plans to expand cooperation in education at the university level with Thailand. New Zealand Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Ruben Levermore told Thai News Agency (TNA) of the moves at a reception in Bangkok on June 18, marking the 40th anniversary of relations between New Zealand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Thailand is a member country. The New Zealand top envoy pointed out that approximately 100,000 New Zealanders travel to Thailand for holidays every year, out of the country's total population of 4 million, while around 20,000 Thais have visited New Zealand yearly. The New Zealand ambassador said his country would like, thus, to turn to be a more appealing tourism destination for Thai visitors through a promotional campaign, dubbed "100% Pure Tourism", in which Thais are able to experience the natural and beautiful landscape of New Zealand by driving around the country and enjoying adventure traveling. On the education front, the ambassador stressed that most Thai parents see New Zealand as a safe and secure English language destination for their children and New Zealand has taken this accountability very seriously. According to the top envoy, New Zealand has developed very successful curricula at the primary and high school levels, which have already attracted about 3,000 Thai students to the country. However, the ambassador noted that New Zeland would like to see more exchange courses at the higher education level between both sides' universities, while also trying to encourage further studies in the country by granting scholarships to Thai students, with New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok to do its best to help promote the opportunities for Thais. Besides, Thailand is seen to pay more attention to the development of skilled labours through vocational education, while New Zealand specialises in hard skills training and teaching, which should help Thailand succeed in the area. (TNA)

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