Thailand Hosts Press Briefing and Study Tour to Promote Low-Carbon Tourism
The Foreign Office of the Government Public Relations Department of Thailand (PRD) hosted a press briefing and study tour program titled “Low-Carbon Tourism: Thailand’s Trend toward Environmental Sustainability” from April 19th to April 21st, 2023. The event aimed to promote Thailand’s policy on low-carbon tourism and was held in Koh Mak, Trat, and Chanthaburi province. Over 40 Thai and foreign media agencies and media units under PRD attended the event, which was chaired by Ms. Sirinapha Pansang, Director of Media and Information Management Division, Foreign Office.
The event focused on promoting Koh Mak as a prototype for driving the green tourism policy under the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model, which focuses on high-quality tourists. Koh Mak has been developed to be a tourism destination that can create income and distribute it to the community, while promoting good management and providing tourism sites on the island with sanitation, convenience, and safety. Koh Mak has been praised on the international stage as the first low-carbon destination in Thailand, and it won second place in the category of Governance, Reset, and Recovery of the Green Destinations Story Award at ITB Berlin 2023, held on March 7th to 9th, 2023.
During the program, the media delegation received a press briefing on Thailand’s sustainable tourism policy, and the development and upgrading of Koh Mak as a low-carbon destination. The panel discussion was held by representatives from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Public Organization) or DASTA, the Tourism Council of Trat, and the Koh Mak Subdistrict Administrative Organization.
The media delegation also observed the garbage clean-up activity conducted by the “Trash Hero,” a group of foreign volunteers gathering every week to collect garbage on the beach. The delegation also learned how to plant coral, did snorkeling activities, and made tie-dyed handicrafts with natural colors derived from native plants and minerals. In Chanthaburi province, the delegation participated in agro-tourism activities at KP Garden Chanthaburi to experience an eco-friendly rural way of life.
Thailand is working to push Koh Mak to achieve global tourism standards, according to Green Destinations, by 2027. The event successfully promoted Thailand’s low-carbon tourism policy and raised awareness of sustainable tourism practices.
