Chiang Rai mulls 3-in-1 tourism plan

Chiang Rai mulls 3-in-1 tourism plan

Bids to turn province into travel hub for the region

CHIANG RAI: The Provincial Hall is proposing to develop a new scheme that would allow tourists to visit three countries in one day, as a part of its bid to develop the province into the region's main tourism hub.

The governor of Chiang Rai, Prajon Prachsakul, said he is seeking the cooperation of interested stakeholders from both the private and public sectors in Laos and Myanmar to help develop the strategy.

The plan was revealed to about 120 participants of a senior justice process administrator course hosted by the Judicial Training Institute for the Office of the Judiciary, who were about to go on a study trip to learn about the province's strategic development plan.

Mr Prajon said tourists will be able to start their journey from Chiang Rai's Chiang Khong district and move on to Laos' Huay Xai, Luang Namtha and Bokeo provinces via the R3A highway, before entering Myanmar's Keng Tung and Tachileik provinces via the R3B highway.

From Myanmar, tourists can then return through those routes to re-enter Thailand in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district.

"We want to develop this strategy because once the scheme is up and running, tourists can see three destinations in one go -- which we hope will exceed their expectations for a one-day trip," he said.

Mr Prajon did not go into further details.

The governor said that when the Fourth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge in Chiang Rai was opened on Dec 11, 2013, a caravan of cars from China travelled to Thailand through the R3A highway to celebrate the opening.

After that, many Chinese tourists travelled down the highway to Chiang Rai and onwards to Chiang Mai, with some going as far as Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket.

"We'll do everything what we can to make Chiang Rai a more attractive destination that is worthy of a longer stay, rather than a mere transit point," he said.

The bridge was built to help establish Chiang Rai as a major economic hub in northern Thailand. Prior to the construction of the bridge, the majority of cross-border trade from Laos and Myanmar -- which share a border with Chiang Rai -- were carried out through the Mekong River and the R3A highway, which links the three countries to Kunming in China.

Mr Prajon said the province is also developing the districts of Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong and Mae Sai as special economic zones to draw investment into the area, but over the past few years the project has been delayed with land procurement issues.

"We are asking the private sector to help with the matter,'' he said.

The governor also said that as a tourist destination, Chiang Rai has yet to fully capitalise on its various tourist destinations.

Mr Prajon has ordered the province's tourism development committee to come up with more plans to attract local and foreign tourists to the province -- especially those from China.

Mr Prajon also said that Chiang Rai's Provincial Hall will be taking full advantage of the publicity generated by last year's world renowned Tham Luang cave rescue to attract even more visitors to the province.

The cave, he said, will be transformed into a living museum that explains how the rescue operation unfolded.

The cave, which is located within the Tham Luang Khun Nam Nang forest reserve in the province's Mae Sai district, attracted global attention last year when 12 young footballers and their coach became trapped within the cave system between June 23 and July 10.

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