Thailand to handle tourism package in GMS

BANGKOK, December 20 (TNA) - The six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have agreed to assign Thailand as the coordinator on tourism package in the region. Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told journalists that the agreement was made on Saturday, following a tourism subcommittee meeting during the 5th GMS Summit, held in Bangkok from December 19-20. Kobkarn explained that in the past, each GMS member country conducted independent marketing activities and persuaded tourists to visit its country and there was a lack of connectivity or cooperation. According to the minister, Saturday’s meeting agreed that tourism package should be organised and Thailand, which is centrally-located in the region and has attracted most international tourists, should be the coordinator. The minister revealed that, initially, two tourism routes are laid out, the first one will be Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, in which tourists will pass through the Thai border province of Nakhon Phanom, and the other one is for tourists to visit Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, and that concerned authorities of the countries will meet again soon to map out regional tourism strategies. Admitting that problems remain, especially the single visa crux due to security issues, the minister noted that her ministry will confer with concerned agencies on the problem within two weeks. In a related development, more Myanmar tourists are now visiting Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in the Thai Upper South, following the recent permanent opening of a border pass. (TNA)