With Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) elections being held nationwide on Saturday, tourism operators hope the new PAO chiefs can integrate their development plans with public tourism agencies to tackle ongoing issues.
Among 47 provinces to hold PAO elections, Chiang Mai and Phuket are expected to see intense contests, particularly between the ruling Pheu Thai Party and the People's Party in Chiang Mai.
La-iad Bungsrithong, board advisor for the Thai Hotels Association, said local administrations lack consistent frameworks as well as cooperation with the private sector in key industries that generate revenue for provinces.
She said this was apparent based on crisis communications during the peak PM2.5 period in March and April last year, as well as the floods in October.
"Chiang Mai was severely affected by PM2.5 dust last year, but the perception of the province was worse than other provinces because of news reports about unhealthy air that were widely shared," said Mrs La-iad.
"The huge flood in October was partly attributed to the lack of integrated communications between local administrations, businesses and communities."
She said the provincial budget, which is as high as 2 billion baht per year, should be utilised more effectively as most of the PAO's plans focus on only yearly routines, which might not align with long-term development plans or the national strategic direction.
Mrs La-iad said while it was useful for Chiang Mai to host a mobile cabinet meeting last November, as local authorities could directly request a development budget from the government, this also caused discontinuity in development as some projects were stalled as the province was eager to introduce new plans to procure a larger budget.
"The association wants the new PAO chiefs to review the plans from the past 5-6 years thoroughly before jumping into new initiatives," she said.
"Their plans should align with regional and national directions as the tourism industry in Chiang Mai closely engages with other provinces in the same cluster, both in terms of infrastructure and tourism products."
While many PAO elections are expected to have a low turnout as advance voting and voting outside hometowns is not allowed, Mrs La-iad said this may not apply to Chiang Mai as most workers are locals.
Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, advisory chairman of the Phuket Tourist Association, said most PAO chief candidates still do not emphasise policies to help their provinces achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 or net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065.
He said those goals are critical for developing the tourism industry in the long run, while local administrations should have a greater role in helping the country.
Phuket still lacks a balanced and sustainable development plan, which can help tourism capacity grow without destroying the environment, said Mr Bhummikitti, adding there's no clear direction from PAO candidates regarding this issue.
"We also need a city data platform where government data can be integrated and serve as a guideline for development of the environment, traffic and pollution," he said.
