Tourism operators believe the separation of tourism and sports activities from the Tourism and Sports Ministry will help enhance tourism's competitiveness in the long run.
The private sector's reaction came after Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa, chairman of the National Olympic Committee, said the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) felt strongly about splitting the ministry.
The separation would see both sports and tourism improve significantly on their own.
The National Olympic Committee discussed the legal framework for the separation of sports from the ministry yesterday and will seek approval from the National Reform Council soon.
Gen Yutthasak said it was one of the priority policies of the NCPO, which aims to return happiness to the Thai people and see Thai sports develop strongly in the future.
Ittirit Kinglek, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), said many of the staff at the Tourism and Sports Ministry have a sports background rather than tourism, so they are just learning about the tourism business.
If tourism and sports activities can be separated from each other, personnel with solid tourism backgrounds can be recruited to help develop the industry amid the competitive business environment, he said.
Apart from the personnel issue, clear job descriptions and the restructuring of tourism-related departments are crucial as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Tourism and Sports Ministry have duplicated work in many areas, Mr Ittirit said.
The TCT is confident if tourism and sports are separated and the Tourism and Sports Ministry is restructured, the tourism business can develop and respond to competition faster.
"We're not worried about tourism marketing thanks to the good job by the TAT, but we think new tourism site development must be done faster to compete with rival countries in the region," he said.
TAT governor Thawatchai Arunyik said many areas of work between the Tourism and Sports Ministry and the TAT overlap. The job descriptions should be clearer and there should be work integration and link between the two organisations, he said.
"Restructuring means not only a new organisation name but also changes to the people and working system. Without changes, it will be useless to divide the ministry," he said.
Mr Thawatchai said the role and work description for the Tourism and Sports Ministry must be clear. Marketing should be the TAT's responsibility and the ministry should focus on tourism sites and product development as well as handling tourists' security.
Mr Thawatchai said work integration would only happen if all parties have the same goal and direction.
"Tourism campaigns need freedom in their decision-making. Today, many sports activities and efforts to promote tourism are done rather slowly," said Mr Ittirit.