Thailand joins Asian Ecotourism Network

BANGKOK, June 3 (TNA) - Thailand and 16 other Asian nations have jointly launched the Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN), aimed to cooperate on developing Asian ecotourism, which is expected to earn them more revenues than those from mainstream tourism. Thailand, through the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Public Organization), together with experts on ecotourism from 16 other Asian nations, thus, opened the AEN office in Bangkok on Wednesday, which is housed in the compound of DASTA headquarters. The AEN office will be a focal point connecting tourism experts in the region to jointly develop ecotourism sites, promoting natural and environmental conservation tourism and supporting income distribution to local communities. While inaugurating the AEN office, DASTA Director-General Colonel Naligatibhak Sangsanit said that AEN office was launched from a joint hope to enhance cooperation on the Asian-style ecotourism development among the 17 allied Asian nations, including Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Lao PDR, South Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, Bhutan, India, Hong Kong, Taipei and Thailand. According to the DASTA chief, the planned collaboration involves sharing of relevant information and know-how on essentials of the development of ecotourism so that it become popular and conserving the environment and communal cultures among travel agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), educational institutes and academics of each allied nation. At present, there are six ecotourism sites in Thailand which are under DASTA's supervision, including Chang Islands and nearby resort areas, Pattaya City and its vicinity, Sukhothai-Si Satchanalai and Kamphaengpet Historical Parks, Loey Province, Heritage City in Nan Province and U-thong Ancient City in Suphanburi Province. The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has projected, meanwhile, that, by the next two decades, ecotourism and natural and local lifestyle tourism should grow extensively and generate higher income than mainstream tourism, while the International Ecotourism Society (TIES) has predicted that ecotourism should grow by about 25 per cent over the next six years and generate tourism revenues up to 470 billion US dollars annually. (TNA)