Dasta pushes GTSC standards
The Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) will promote six existing designated tourism areas to meet the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GTSC) standards this year.
The tourism areas have surpassed more than half of the GTSC’s 41-point standards.
“If our six designated tourism areas fully pass the GTSC standards, it will help lift the country’s image among international travellers,” said Chuwit Mitrchob, Dasta’s director for strategic management.
Dasta is confident they will meet all sustainable tourism standards this year.
The six designated tourism areas are: Koh Chang’s connecting areas between Koh Kood and Koh Mak; Pattaya’s connecting areas of Bang Lamung and Koh Larn; Sukhothai’s old town covering Sri Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet; Loei province including Phu Luang, Phu Rua, Phu Kradung and Chiang Khan areas; five subdistricts in Nan province; and U Thong city in Suphan Buri.
Mr Chuwit said Thailand has a lot of potential to develop its tourism industry, thanks to the popularity of Bangkok as a top global destination for travellers.
The government has thrown its support behind the tourism industry and Dasta has also received support from the Tourism and Sports Ministry to develop local tourism sites in a bid to achieve sustainable tourism.
He said the sustainable tourism development plan under the GTSC standards will benefit Thailand as the country will be widely accepted among communities worldwide.
Mr Chuwit said the plan would further expand the tourist attractions on offer to serve rising annual demand from international travellers.
Thailand is one of three Asian countries that has joined GTSC. The other two are Indonesia and South Korea, which offer their own approaches to alternative tourism.
Dasta plans to allocate at least 500 million baht this year to effectively operate and manage community-based tourism in line with GTSC standards, which were adopted by the United Nations.
It will also accelerate the set up of eight clusters from six designated areas nationwide to help generate revenue for local communities and reduce poverty.
Dasta’s 20-year development plan, starting this year, is intended to help increase local tourism revenue by 10% while significantly lowering poverty within the first five years of implementation.
Dasta said the eight clusters have already been planned in 37 provinces and an official guideline to operate them will be finalised by the National Tourism Committee soon.
The eight expected clusters will be developed from the designated tourism areas in Koh Chang, Pattaya, the Sukhothai and Kamphaeng Phet historical parks, as well as Loei, Nan and Suphan Buri.