National –
The Thai cabinet committee has acknowledged a proposal for tourism and sports development in three major provinces in Thailand in order to spur the domestic economy, deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisaranakul reported yesterday, November 3.
The initial projects are Klong Thom Spa in Krabi Province, the Nam Phut Bang Sawan tourist attraction development project in Surat Thani province, and possibly joint sports events and competition to boost sports tourism in the Phuket, Krabi, and Surat Thani areas.
According to the spokeswoman, the major Southern provinces were significantly and directly affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic since they have been economically driven by foreign tourism, approximately about 68 percent in total. Some individual areas like Koh Samui and Phuket rely on foreign tourism for even substantially more GDP.
The promising projects in the provinces, therefore, fundamentally aim to boost primarily domestic tourism and additionally attract foreign tourists during and after the pandemic.
Spokeswoman Traisulee further stated that the Klong Thom Spa project, also known as Krabi Hot Springs, and Nam Phut Bang Sawan of Surat Thani are popular tourist hot springs which attracted about 100,000 tourists per year, primarily foreign, before the time period of the Covid-19 outbreak.
By promoting and developing relevant outdoor activities, including hiking, sub-boarding, canoeing, kayaking as well as other tourist accommodation, facilities, and international sports events, it is believed that the attractions would become more popular among Thai people and foreigners nationally and internationally, she concluded.