Seminar explores developing Thailand as Asian cruise tourism hub
The Thai Chamber of Commerce and Thai Cruises Business Association (TCBA) on Tuesday organised an online seminar to promote Thailand as a cruise tourism hub in Asia.
The aim of the seminar was to enable Thai and foreign experts in the cruise industry to share their opinions to make the country's port attract tourists and support cruises for at least 10 to 20 years, TCBA president Wattana Choksuvanich said.
He explained that ports in Phuket supported more than 200 cruise trips in 2018 even though the province does not have a cruise port and passenger terminal that meets the standard.
He also pointed out that building a cruise port in Pattaya would help facilitate travel in Bangkok apart from high-speed rail linking three airports.
Thailand was ranked No. 3 as a cruise destination in Asia, so cooperation with cruise lines on port development would enable the country to gain more market share and boost tourism revenue, he said.
He added that this cooperation is also in line with the 20-year national strategy on boosting the country's competitiveness.
Hence, we believe that this seminar will enable related agencies to promote Thailand to be Asia's cruise tourism hub in the future, he added.