Tourist sector unprepared for AEC shift

Government urged to improve standards

Published: 13 Nov 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: Business

A poll by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) found that more than half of tourism operators were not ready to deal with the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

The agency hired the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) to gather information from 400 tourism operators from Sept 30 to Oct 7.

Some 45.6% of respondents said Thailand was not prepared to deal with full liberalisation of the Asean market in 2015, while 58.4% said their businesses were modestly ready for AEC and 27.5% said they were ready.

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tg1955
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Discussion 1 : 17 Nov 2012 at 09.231
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AEC 2015 has been in the ASEAN radar for years; tourism-related operators should have started preparing for its coming well in advance with the support of government, particularly the Tourism Authority of Thailand. It is a case of scrambling at the last minute. No long-term planning, no vision for the future - and even if it does have the plan, implementation or enforcement always hits snags because of politicking: when a government changes hands, the policies of previous administration are almost always overturned or put in the back burner. This is the reason why Thailand lags far behind Singapore and Malaysia.
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Tourist sector unprepared for AEC shift | Bangkok Post: business