简体中文
By APD writer Chen Jiabao
**BANGKOK, Dec.12 (APD) - **Thailand's Kanchanaburi is seeking to attract more and more Chinese tourists in the upcoming 2018, said the province's tourism body at a press conference specially held to welcome the visiting Thai-Chinese Journalist Association(TCJA) recently.
Janyarak Satikit, director of Kanchanaburi Tourism and Sports Office said Chinese tourists numbered only 10,000 among the 8.13 million tourist arrivals of Kanchanaburi in 2016.
She said the Kanchanaburi, the third largest province in Thailand rich in natural tourism resources and cultural legacies, is targeting Chinese tourists, especially individual tourists. She expected a 10 percent growth of Chinese visitors in 2018.
Janyarak thanked TCJA for holding the car rally and bring together both Thai and Chinese media here in Kanchanaburi, saying that the event strengthens the ties between media from the two countries and helps to promote tourism of the province.
She said the province will exploit its untapped tourism potential by creating new tourist attractions and maintaining the old ones. Meanwhile, more tourism events and theme tour packages such border tour, waterfall trip and hot spring trip will be promoted.
"In order to embrace the rising Chinese tourists, tourism personnel in Kanchanaburi will be provided with Chinese and English language training." said the director.
Kanchanaburi shares the border with Myanmar. The province in western Thailand, two hours drive from Bangkok, is well known for abundant mountains, waterfalls and lakes.
The most famous tourist attraction here is "Death Railway" that lies on the picturesque rive Kwai. Built by hundred thousand laborers who were prisoners and slaves when Japanese Army took over South East Asia, the railway originated in Thailand and cut across to the Myanmar war front to aid in the Japanese invasion of India. The province has recently created a new retro-city reflecting the past Siamese lifestyle during the reign of King Rama V.
TCJA held the car rally during Dec.9-10. The event, sponsored by APD News as the one the boards of TCJA, has attracted more than 100 participants from Thai and Chinese business sector and media. The rally started from Bangkok and ended in Kanchanaburi.
Along the 200km long trip, APD, together with Thai mainstream media, visited several tourism highlights of Kanchanaburi. The trip is valued by Kanchanaburi's tourism body.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
