Major players want ministry to be devoted

Major tourism players wa"I agree with the separation of tourism and sport. The tourism job should not be included with sport. The ministry should be overseeing only tourism," said Suthikiati Chirathivat, chairman of the board of Centara Hotels and Resorts, one of the country’s largest hotel chains.

He said the tourism sector needed a good long-term plan and good infrastructure with focus on "quality" tourists.

Asked to comment on the government’s new economic team, he only said it was not too bad.

"I believe that if the new team continues and follows existing plans, things should get better," he said.

Bombing a setback

He said that if the bombing at the Erawan Shrine had not happened, the country could have easily surpassed this year’s projected 28 million arrivals and generated Bt2.2 trillion in tourism revenue.

Yutthachai Soonthronrattanavate, president of the Association of Domestic Travel (ADT), said it was time to prop up the Tourism and Sports Ministry as the key agency to drive the economy in the current situation. Tourism is the only optimistic sector that could help drive the entire economy forward this year.

The association called on the junta to play a greater role in promoting tourism by drafting a long-term development plan. He cited the example of Singapore, which kicked off big plans for tourism in 2010.

YuthachaiYutthachai added that the ADT had proposed that the government increase competency at the three major tourism bodies – the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Department of Tourism, and the Tourist Police.

"Each of these bodies needs to improve its efficiency in order to raise the country’s competitiveness and strength," he said.

According to the ADT, the TAT should focus on marketing while the Tourism Department should contribute tourism knowledge, while the police should provide tourists safety and confidence.