More community role envisaged for tourism

Acting Second Lieutenant Arnupap Gaesornsuwan, director-general of the department, said it had laid out plans to allow greater participation by local communities in the management of tourist attractions under the “Discover Thainess” theme.
According to the plan, each community with tourist attractions will be asked to nominate a working committee for the DMO to draw up development plans and frameworks to on a self-reliance basis.
It is hoped that this scheme will result in better management of tourist attractions, so they can more vividly depict the unique characteristics and lifestyle of the community on a sustainable basis.
Another aim is to prevent the expansion of low-quality tourism businesses. To move forward with the DMO idea, the government will hold a meeting next month with local tourism agencies that are allocated budgets from the Bureau of Tourist Attraction Development.
The DMOs will be expected to collaborate with relevant agencies from both the government and private sectors.
The government input would include provincial governors, provincial offices of the Tourism and Sports Ministry, municipal offices, tambon administrative organisations, and agencies directly responsible for tourist attractions such as the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the Department of Fine Arts.
As for the private sector, the DMOs would collaborate with tourism-related businesses in the area, local tourist guides, restaurants, and local traders. Representatives from these entities are expected to brainstorm and collaborate to bring about the good management of the tourist attractions in terms of infrastructure, facilities, safety, marketing, public relations, and the attractions’ unique selling points.
“I believe that 2015 will be the golden year of Thailand’s tourism,” Arnupap said. “Not only is it the ‘Discover Thainess’ year, it will see strong growth of tourist arrivals based on the tourism statistics and forecasts.
“The favourable trends will greatly benefit the national economy as a whole. However, we cannot ignore the fact that there may be adverse impacts from the growth in tourism. Therefore, we must be well prepared in every aspect, as we need both the government and private sectors, which used to work separately, to be working closely together to make the project work.”
The department believes that it is not necessary for all local DMOs to be identical. Each one should position itself according to the unique characteristic of the tourist attractions in the area. For example, the DMO of a historical attraction should involve representatives from the Department of Fine Arts, the local administrative body, and tourism businesses; an ecological attraction should involve the local Regional Office of Protected Areas, local administrative bodies, the community itself, and the private agencies.