The Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) plans to develop artistic provinces, namely Suphan Buri, Nan, Loei, Phetchaburi and Chiang Rai, in preparation for the 2021 Unesco Creative Cities competition.
Dasta director-general Thaweepong Wichaidit said the agency has a three-year plan (2020-22) to develop creative tourism in community-based destinations that have the potential to win the Unesco Creative Cities and Sustainable Destinations Top 100 designations.
In 2020, Dasta has to prepare communities in these provinces for the next competition after Sukhothai, which was selected by Dasta, was added to the list of Unesco Creative Cities this year as a city of crafts and folk arts, along with Bangkok as a city for design.
Suphan Buri and Nan, which were dropped from consideration this year, will be resubmitted as a city of music and a city of crafts and folk arts, respectively.
The agency is working on the process to choose proper categories for Loei, Phetchaburi and Chiang Rai, based on the characteristics of each province.
Phetchaburi will likely be nominated as a city of crafts and folk arts or gastronomy, while Chiang Rai will be nominated as a city of design.
Mr Thaweepong said Loei will be submitted as either a creative city or for the Unesco intangible cultural heritage distinction based on unique culture and diverse attractions.
The agency also plans to nominate the Chiang Khan district in Loei for the Sustainable Destinations Top 100 awards at ITB Berlin, one of the world's top travel trade shows, in 2022.
The goal is to draw more recognition to Thailand as a sustainable destination to meet global demand for environmentally sustainable tourism.
In December, Dasta and other tourism-related agencies welcomed Bhutanese ambassador Tshewang Chophel Dorji in Loei, which is using the global sustainable tourism criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) to manage tourism in local communities.
After the ambassador's visit to Loei municipality and Chiang Khan district, he is seeking further cooperation with the Tourism Council of Bhutan and Dasta to help adopt GSTC criteria to develop tourism in the country by next year, said Dasta deputy director-general Chuwit Mitrchob.
Initially cooperation is planned between Bhutan and Loei in three main categories, comprising sustainable tourism, education and cultural exchange, and local product development.
In 2020, responsible tourism will become the flagship project of the Thai tourism sustainability push to prevent over-tourism and introduce new, less-visited areas of the country.
The agency and the Tourism Authority of Thailand will collaborate on developing new tourism products.
Mr Thaweepong said community-based tourism will play a vital role in supporting tourism by encouraging Thais to travel locally as well as luring quality tourists to these new tourism areas.