Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is backing the idea of turning Lamphun into a city of museums and lifting efforts to make Nan a Unesco world heritage site as part of efforts to boost the kingdom's tourism industry.
Mr Srettha raised such matters during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday after he visited several provinces and noticed their hidden potential. For example, he found that the younger generation in Lamphun had an idea to turn the northern province's capital into a city of museums, which should be considered.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin gives a speech at a meeting with representatives of hoteliers and tourism-related business operators at Government House on Tuesday. (Photo: Thai Khu Fah)
This comes as the prime minister has assigned the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the Culture Ministry and other agencies to create a plan to promote tourism in several cities, both the popular ones and the lesser-known ones.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry has also been ordered to develop a standard key performance indicator (KPI) target that public-sector tourism personnel in 55 provinces should meet.
The ministry is required to present the standard to the cabinet within two weeks.
Mr Srettha has further ordered several agencies to speed up efforts to make Nan a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) world heritage site as the province was closely connected to the city of Luang Prabang in Laos in the past, but the latter has already been listed as a world heritage site.
As part of this effort, he is looking to build tourism connections between the two cities and improve Nan's transport and airport, according to government spokesman Chai Wacharonke.
The tasks were assigned to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Transport Ministry during the cabinet meeting.
The moves are also part of the government's "Five Countries, One Destination" policy, which aims to link Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia in terms of tourism.
"The prime minister is confident about Thailand's potential," Mr Chai said.
"The country is rich in culture, with many art and cultural attractions, Thai fabrics and Thai food. The government is ready to support and promote tourism in provinces that are worth visiting in Thailand so that their identities can be highlighted," he added.