The chief of Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai has praised the huge number of holidaymakers who visited the country’s highest peak over the King's Birthday long weekend for their "impressive cooperation" in helping keep garbage to a minimum.
Pornthep Charoensuabsakul said almost 30,000 people entered between Dec 4 and 7 to enjoy the cold weather and he was impressed by the spirit of cooperation from them this year.
He said the campers were more disciplined, heeded officials’ advice and cooperated well with the park’s campaign to reduce the amount of garbage, and other regulations.
“Some took their trash home with them” to show support for the campaign, Mr Pornthep said.
Park staff collected 4.5 tonnes of garbage between Dec 4 and 7, with the average visitor generating 0.15kg of trash per day.
The park officials were able to collect and dispose of all of the garbage, which was less than for the same period last year.
“I want to thank all of the tourists for being more disciplined and caring more for the environment, for helping us reduce the amount of garbage,” Mr Pornthep said.
The park chief, however, said the mass of revellers over the past weekend was only a “big rehearsal” ahead of the deluge of tourists expected during the New Year celebration.
More than 100,000 tourists packed Doi Inthanon from Dec 25 last year to Jan 1, generating four to five tonnes of garbage per day, he added.
Temperatures on top of popular Doi Inthanon mountain continue to drop, with the mercury falling to just 3.8C on Wednesday morning.