Ecotourism gives impetus to tourism
SOME 800,000 foreign tourists last year came to Thailand with the specific purpose of visiting villages, natural sites, communities, and hilltribes across the Kingdom, while more than 2 million Thai tourists also pursued these interests.
They mingled well with like-minded travellers who cherished the “ecotourism” theme. These destinations appealed mainly to visitors from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Scandinavia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
The number of foreign ecotourism visitors is expected to reach 1 million within the next year or two.
While Thailand enjoys being one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the world, with nearly 30 million foreign visitors per year, the country now is attempting to embark on a new era in the adventure and ecotourism segment.
To reach the targeted markets, the Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association (TEATA), under the direction of its new president, Neeracha Wongmasa, has mapped out strategic plans to develop ecotourism and adventure products to meet international standards and to seek new markets.
“As the new president, I will maintain and continue all of the long-term policies that the association has laid out for years. However, my priority jobs are to develop ecotourism and adventure travel to meet with higher-level international standards along with improving internal management,” Neeracha said.
She was recently appointed to replace Duangkamol Chansuriya-wong as the head of TEATA. Nucharee Neeracha will oversee and supervise this niche market for a two-year term and will have an opportunity to apply for a second term if needed.
With 18 years of experience in the tourism industry from her own business, Global Holidays and Phunacome Resort in Loei province, she says she is keen to help shape tactics to drive ecotourism and adventure travel.
She said ecotourism and community-based activities would be key to the sustainability of the overall tourism sector, in Thailand as well as in many other countries. However, developing this segment requires strong cooperation among stakeholders as well as active TEATA members.
The association has about 70-80 members, mostly located in the provinces. That number is sufficient, but the big concern is how to help members understand and develop their products to cater to tourists.
“Growing is not about the number of members, but [about each] member’s business. Members need to work and grow together,” she said.
Moreover, local people need to understand more about ecotourism and have the proper skills to deal with local and international visitors.
TEATA says this niche segment contributed about Bt300 billion in tourism revenue to the county last year.
Although Thailand has plenty to offer tourists looking for cultural, heritage and natural sites, TEATA has realised that Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and other countries in the region have become major competitors because their governments have strengthened their marketing at international events.
To push ecotourism and community-based travel at the international level, Neeracha plans to showcase TEATA’s activities at “Thailand Travel Mart Plus” (TTM 2017), which is scheduled to take place from June 14-16 at the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Moreover, TEATA will soon meet with teachers working at schools in Singapore to encourage them to bring students to Thailand for ecotourism experiences.
The association will also consider attending tourism events in markets outside this region such as Europe.
For domestic travellers, the association plans to encourage ecotourism and adventure at the community level by working with many villages to promote their unique products, including local foods and fruits, culture, and festivals to outsiders.
This year, a route of eight tribe villages in Nakhon Phanom province and a community-based tourism network in Loei province will be launched.
“Ecotourism is expected to continue to account for 10-20 per cent of the entire sector, but our niche products and stories can be developed and promoted to [Thais] and foreign tourists, and that can increase spending and length of stay,” Neeracha said.
Internal management and better online communication are also concerns in the current digital age.
The association is planning to work more closely with experienced and senior persons to create proper strategies to deal with the current tough situation.
It will also increase its team of information-technology specialists to develop more online and virtual communication channels in order to reach more customers.
