A plan to transform Thailand`s northern resort province of Chiang Mai into the nation`s leading tourism hub inched closer…
A plan to transform Thailand`s northern resort province of Chiang Mai into the nation`s leading tourism hub inched closer yesterday, with the promise of central government funding of Bt200 billion over the next five years.
Announcing the funding allocation, Mr. Jumphol Chuthima, President of the Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce, said that the Bt200 billion would be used over the next five years to develop the northern city into a centre of tourism, healthcare, information technology and handicrafts.
In term of tourism, the focus will be on the development of related businesses, including international conference centres, centres to showcase goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and as part of the government`s One Tambon One Product (OTOP) scheme, and leading hotels.
Noting that Chiang Mai was currently home to around 12 five-star hotels owned by global hotel chains, including Shangri La, Hilton and Sheraton, Mr. Jumphol said that this demonstrated the rapid growth of the province`s tourism industry.
Last year, the northern province was visited by three million tourists, almost equally divided between domestic and foreign visitors.
Provincial authorities are now trying to boost both the number of tourists visiting the province, and average length of stays.
Last year, the province generated Bt40 billion in tourism revenue, and aims to increase this to as much as Bt77 billion within the next three years.
Mr. Jumphol said that in term of healthcare provision, the province planned to upgrade the quality of its hospitals to encourage tourists to undertake medical checks and treatments.
He also noted that considerable progress had been made on plans to transform Chiang Mai into an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) city, and that a call centre had already been established, while several educational institutions had expressed a willingness to take part.
In addition, the province was establishing a Lanna Product Design Centre in order to produce goods which met the needs of foreign markets.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
