Wednesday 15 June 2011

Amazing Thailand is Going Green ... who's responsible?


Thailand is going green. Don’t worry it’s got nothing to do with radioactive fallout from Japan or some mysterious tropical ailment. Rather, it’s the concerted sustainable tourism direction the industry is now taking throughout Amazing Thailand ...

At the recent Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2011 forum, the theme was ‘Caring for the Earth’ and eco travel was pushed to the top of the agenda.

In his keynote address, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Suraphon Svetasreni addressed the topic:
“The need to reconcile the economic and ecological impact of travel and tourism is critical to the Balanced Strategy that we are pursuing as part of of our tourism development policies. There is no doubt that so many millions of foreign and domestic tourists lead to high emissions of greenhouse gases and other forms of environmental impact. Hence it is the responsibility of the entire industry to help mitigate this impact.”

TAT has long been championing this direction, by introducing the 7 Greens Concept in 2008, with an aim of promoting environmentally friendly tourism, plus introducing the Green Leaf Certification system, something along the lines of a hotel star-rating system for green travel.

Northern Thailand in particular offers an abundance of ecologically pristine areas, especially Mae Hong Son province, arguably one of the most beautiful parts of Thailand. Its major centre, Pai, (which I’ve blogged about before here) celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. If you love mountain trekking, river rafting, etc, this is the place the head for.

For more information on Thailand Goes Green, see www.tourismthailand.org/greet



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