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TOURISM
CHATRUDEE THEPARAT
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has teamed up with the private sector to kick off the ''Green Initiatives'' programme to help maintain a balance between tourism promotion and environmental protection and ensure long-term sustainability for the industry.
The scheme aims to protect, preserve and rehabilitate the environment by raising awareness and promoting more corporate social responsibility (CSR) and active participation among all stakeholders, said Sasi-Apha Sukontarat, executive director of the TAT's Product Promotion Department.
The programme, aimed to create sustainable tourism, involves state agencies involved in promoting tourism, private operators and service providers, as well as public and non-governmental organisations and communities.
The growing concern worldwide over global warming and climate change has led to dramatic changes in consumer attitudes, travel seasons and other travel patterns and trends.
It is influencing individual choices regarding travel destinations, the length of trips and other factors such as the availability of environmentally friendly modes of transport and environmentally-responsible service providers, she said.
With an increasing number of world travellers looking to significantly reduce their carbon footprint by opting for environmentally friendly travel and tourism-related products and services, the adoption of a green agenda for Thailand ensures that the destination and the Thai tourism industry retain international competitiveness.
The Green Initiatives consist of the development of a 17-billion-baht database of operators and service providers offering green or environmentally friendly tourism products and services.
The database, projected to completed by this year, aimed to raise the local and international visibility and awareness of the green tourism operators and service providers in Thailand.
Moreover, green tourism destinations will be selected or developed with Koh Samui picked as the first location. Nan and Mae Hong Son will later join the programme.
TAT also implemented seven green programmes to establish practical guidelines for the tourism sector. The implementation of the initial phase will be completed by 2010.
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