Wildlife officials reject zip-line bid

Wildlife officials reject zip-line bid

Tardmok waterfall at the Doi-Suthep-Pui National Park will be spared tourist lines, at least for a while. A proposal to build a zip line to attract large numbers of visitors has been flatly turned down. (Photo via Facebook/Tardmok Fall)
Tardmok waterfall at the Doi-Suthep-Pui National Park will be spared tourist lines, at least for a while. A proposal to build a zip line to attract large numbers of visitors has been flatly turned down. (Photo via Facebook/Tardmok Fall)

The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (NPWPCD) has rejected a company's request to operate a tourism business offering adventure activities in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and Mae Rim National Reserved Forest.

The request was submitted by the Chiang Mai-based Egle Track Co, seeking to offer tourists a range of pursuits such zip lining, also known as aerial ropesliding.

Thanya Netithammakun, director-general of the department, said the agency turned down the request because of the potential dangers zip lining poses as well as the legal issue of using the forest for such an activity.

Zip lining, in which a person sails horizontally in mid-air by a pulley suspended on a cable, has recently become popular among Thai and foreign tourists as tourism operators increasingly look to promote adventure sports, he said.

Mr Thanya said the zip line is not always reliable and has been responsible for accidents in the past, he said, which is why the NPWPCD notified the national park and wildlife sanctuaries to ban the activity.

A tourist harnessed to a zip-line takes in the scenery from aloft. (File photo)

The forest area chosen as the site for the proposed zip line is part of the 51-rai plot in Ban Pang Pa Kha village, linking the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and Mae Rim National Reserve Forest in Chiang Mai.

This particular area is not in the zones known as "service areas", which are open to recreational tourism, he said.

He added the area is also awaiting land right verification under a June 30, 1998 cabinet resolution.

The zip line activity is offered elsewhere in Chiang Mai as well as in Phuket and Krabi.

Several accidents involving the activity were reported recently, according to Mr Thanya.

A number of complaints have been filed against zip-line operators in Thailand for refusing to take responsibility for accidents and injuries, he said.

Last year, a Chinese tourist fell to his death while gliding on a zip line in Chiang Mai due to faulty safety equipment.

The department has also rejected requests for other tourism sports in the park such as walking across a makeshift suspension bridge, according to Mr Thanya.

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