Chiang Mai tourism operators want to showcase the province's mountainous charms to capture a rock climbing market that boasts 44.5 million enthusiasts worldwide, while urging the government to support the activity and sport in many provinces as it offers great potential to help expand the tourism sector.
Punlop Saejew, acting president of the Tourism Council of Chiang Mai, said he had brought to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's attention the potential offered by the rock climbing market during the premier's visit to Chiang Mai earlier this month.
Local destinations which hosted a climbing championship would be able to generate at least 1 billion baht in revenue, Mr Punlop said.
Based on data provided by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), there are 10.4 million American climbers. American are ranked fifth among Chiang Mai's foreign arrivals, Mr Punlop noted.
The IFSC hosted a competition in 2019 in Vail, a municipality of Colorado, which attracted around 7,700 participants.
Among climbers taking part in such a competition as well as the spectators attending the event, the length of stay rate recorded rivalled the level recorded during a Fifa World Cup, tallying 20 days per trip. A long stay was necessary for all competitors as they need to practice intensively prior to the commencement of a competition.
"If the government wants to promote second-tier cities or less-crowded destinations, climbing matches the target perfectly, as every region has a mountain range suitable for this activity," he said.
As well as Chiang Mai, other provinces that would be able to promote rock climbing are: Lampang, Krabi, Surat Thani, Trang, Phangnga, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nakhon Ratchasima, Saraburi, Phetchaburi, Lop Buri and Khon Kaen.
Providing a local example, Mr Punlop said Chiang Mai's Chai Prakan district alone hosts five of the 10 deepest caves in Thailand, which are worth exploring by climbers, but are not properly promoted or developed.
He said the local community of Mae On district is still waiting for local administration's permission to reopen its renowned limestone cliff for climbers, after Mr Srettha instructed local authorities to help restart climbing sport tourism in the area.
A cliff known as "Crazy Horse" is in the same area as Muang On Cave, which is a famous attraction in the province.
According to Mr Punlop, the area previously attracted 3,000-5,000 climbers per year, generating 300 million baht for the province. Opened to the public in 2000, it was forced to close in 2018 following a legal dispute over an official abusing their position.
Mr Punlop said since then local communities who regularly earnt income from tourists have been impacted by the closure.