“The plan is to promote traditional, conservative activities such as temple routes, sightseeing tours in the old city and visiting craft villages.”

The Tourism Authority Thailand (TAT) Chiang Mai Office has announced its performance for the past year and announced its plans for 2019.

Visroot Inhyam, the director general of TAT’s northern region outlined the main issues for tourism promotion in the region that’s clustered few areas that are already well known in the market.

“When events are held repeatedly in the same place, what happens is the destination is swamped with people. The question we, and business-people, need to ask is how to spread the crowds to other areas in the region,” said Visroot. He pointed out that income distribution is the ultimate goal for the local TAT office.

Chiang Mai has welcomed approximately 10 million visitors from January to August this year, a 4% growth from last year, generating over 95 million baht.

Visroot said the majority of tourists continue to be Thai while 30% are international visitors. Among Thai visitors, 40% are from the central region with a large number from Bangkok, and about the same ratio from northern Thailand while the other regions are less than 10%.

Chinese travellers remain the largest international inflow for 2018 followed by those from the US, Japan and UK, with an average stay of three days and spending about 4,000 baht per person per day.

Pakkanan Winijchai, the newly appointed director general of Tourism Authority Thailand Chiang Mai Office stated that the goals are to accelerate the spending of mass tourist, penetrating niche markets and spreading tourism destinations.

“This year’s target markets are the same groups – millennial who are below 30 years old, the silver age, female travellers and millennial families under the concept ‘amazing stories of the north & local hero’.”

“Millennium people love chic and cool crafts and Chiang Mai is so rich in that,” said Pakkanan presenting last year’s events and reported in the Chiang Mai City Life.

The most popular events include Sawassdee Craft, Chiang Mai Design Week, Baan Tawai Creative Craft Village and more. While the ‘silver age’ group who are retired people, the office sees that they have plenty of free time and less bound to their work.

As for woman travellers, next year the office will concentrate on local textiles, focusing on Mae Chaem and San Kamphaeng and as to the millennium families who enjoy hands-on kids friendly experience, the promotion will be on local farm stays.

The target for next year is to increase domestic travallers by 10% and international travellers by 12% with the revenue growth at 11.5% from this year.

The ongoing battle between protesters and residents of housing inside a controversial residential area on the foothills of Dom Suthem in Chiang Mai, has taken a new tack.

Banners revealing the names of appeal court officials who live at the controversial housing estate at the foot of forested Doi Suthep mountain were found in Chiang Mai yesterday.

Read more about the ongoing protest of the residential development HERE.

The Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation Network, persistent protesters over the housing development, denies any involvement in the banners.

The municipality removed the banners from near Tha Phae and Chang Pheuk gates, both popular tourist sites, according to deputy mayor Natchudech Wiriyadiloktham.

The banners said in Thai…

“Trampling on the hearts of Chiang Mai, dismissing the community rights and disrespecting Doi Suthep” along with the list of name. The banners were erected on Wednesday night.

The Doi Suthep Forest Reclamation network’s co-ordinator Teerasak Rupsuwan said his group had nothing to do with the move, as it focused on reclaiming the site via legal procedures.

He said the act might have been sparked by comments from the PM’s office minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana. The minister said some outsiders might want the housing estate preserved and that they needed 30 more days to find a solution. Tears believed the comments might have angered some people who have access to the court staff names.

SOURCE: The Nation

PHOTO: Hia Kiang, the long-term owner of a tuk-tuk rental company says it’s no longer profitable – Chiang Mai News

Recent news out of the northern city suggests that all is not all in the relationship between the App-world taxis and the traditional taxi services.

Chiang Mai News is reporting that a long time owner of a business renting tuk-tuks to drivers is being forced out of business by competition.

“Hia Kiang” is blaming the prevalence of illegal tuk-tuks, red song-thaews and ‘Grab’ for destroying his business. This was passed on by one of his mechanics, 38 year old Thewathin Kuaytha.

Hia Kiang says he has been in business for thirty years and is now offering his vehicles for sale at 250,000 baht each as there is no profit in the business anymore.

The Mechanic, Thewathin, known as “Chang Rang” says that legal tuk-tuk drivers used to be able to make up to 1,000 baht a day. But that’s no longer the case.

“Now, they can only get a few hundred baht a day – not enough to cover rents and fuel.”

SOURCE: Chiang Mai News