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Thailand: Upgrades ahead for three islands
The government has set its sights on upgrading and promoting three islands in and near the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) to become spots for quality tourism.
The three islands in the Gulf of Thailand are Koh Si Chang in Chon Buri, Koh Samet in Rayong and Koh Chang in Trat.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EEC Office, said the agency will conduct public hearings to upgrade and promote the islands.
“The government also wants to develop the three islands into smart cities, with a better environment and facilities,” he said. “The three islands will be designated in the future to become tourist destinations for human resources who work in the EEC and general visitors.”
Koh Si Chang has potential for quality tourism given its royal connections: King Mongkut (Rama IV) visited several times on his steamship, and King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) built a summer palace on the island.
Koh Samet is a marine national park, but it’s also a popular tourist spot among Thai and foreign visitors.
According to Mr Kanit, the two islands have problems with garbage and a shortage of water.
Koh Chang, named for its elephant-shaped headland, is Thailand’s third-largest island after Phuket and Samui. It sits 300km east of Bangkok in Trat province, near the Cambodian border.
Mr Kanit said Koh Chang needs to improve its town planning.
Development of the three islands is part of the EEC’s tourism development plan.
An EEC Committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in February of last year approved an action plan to promote tourism in the EEC, with the purpose of upgrading tourism in the area to become a world-class destination focused on quality visitors and medical tourism.
The action plan covers 47 projects with a total investment of 30.25 billion baht during 2017-21, with public-private partnerships spending 23 billion baht, the government’s fiscal budget supplying 6.89 billion and state-owned enterprises chipping in 350 million.
The development plan aims to increase visitors to the EEC provinces to 46.72 million in 2021 and generate 508.59 billion baht in income, up from 28.89 million and 285.57 billion baht in 2017.
Mr Kanit said tourism development also conforms to the plan to raise the handling capacity of U-tapao airport to 15 million passengers in five years.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1652728/upgrades-ahead-for-three-islands