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Published on February 15, 2008

With the new government's Year of Investment and Tourism 2008-2009 campaign, the ministry aims to make investors more confident in the sector.

"I want to see tourism achieve stability within six months," said Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat.

He will also suggest private investment in hotels and service businesses, particularly SMEs, in order to offer tourists more products.

The number of tourism development projects slowed during the term of the interim government despite the number of arrivals growing.

"If we can offer tourists more products, we then earn more income," said Weerasak, adding that the ministry also wanted to talk with associations soon to draw up suitable plans.

The ministry is inviting all agencies to discuss strategies for tourism development, including talks with the Agriculture Ministry to reopen the Royal Flora Expo in Chiang Mai.

The ministry will also work with the National Tourism Committee, set up during the interim government, to set a national agenda for the sector.

"The country needs new magnets to attract international tourists and encourage local people to take vacations throughout the year," he said.

Weerasak said the TAT had been ordered to categorise all tourist attractions into at least one of five levels - provincial, cluster, national, regional and international - so that these could be promoted to the right target groups.

"Tourist places well known at the provincial level could be promoted as regional or international products if they have potential," said Weerasak.

He also ordered the TAT to produce guide books to encourage more domestic tourism.

TAT governor Phornsiri Manoharn said the authority would run its first regional campaign - Visit Issan Year - this year. It expects the campaign to boost tourism in the region by about 10 per cent this year.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation