THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) is getting on the ASEAN Economic Zone (AEZ) bandwagon by taking over 100 staff members on a discovery tour of Vietnam and Laos.
The AEZ, due to launch in 2015, aims to foster greater economic integration among ASEAN member countries and enhance the flow of travellers within the region.
To explore opportunities and pitfalls of the AEZ in relation to tourism, TAT will organise two overland trips: Vietnam from May 4-9 and Laos from June 1-6. Previous staff outings were limited to local destinations.
Suraphon Svetasreni, TAT Governor, said: “We want our staff to really get to know our ASEAN neighbors, who are important tourist source markets as well as main destinations for visitors from (other) countries. There is much tourism potential in these areas when Thailand enters the AEZ, but we must be ready to take advantage of (this) by 2015.”
Both trips commence in Bangkok and enter Indochina through Thailand’s North-east. The Vietnam tour will cover Mukdahan Province in Thailand, Savannakhet in Laos, World Heriage Sites in Hue and Hoi An, and Danang. The Laos trip will cover Nong Khai Province, Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
Suraphon added: “We are going not solely for marketing purposes, also to build closer relations with our Vietnamese and Lao friends. Tourism is always a two-way business, so we are keen on making the trips which we hope will spur further intra-regional travel.”
