Lively tourism in Thai far South during Hari Raya

BANGKOK, August 20 (TNA) - Thailand's five southernmost Muslim-predominant provinces of Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla, and Satun now enjoy very lively tourism, thanks to inflows of Muslim tourists who are celebrating the Hari Raya Aidilfitri, marking the end of Ramadan, their annual one-month fasting period. Crowds of international tourists, especially those from neighbouring Malaysia and Thailand's three southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, were seen flowing to the Pak Bara Port in Satun, a marine junction to different resort islands in the Thai South, most of whom were visiting the Lee Pe Island, as the Thai government has declared August 20 an extra Hari Raya holiday for the Thai-Muslims. Jettakorn Wansu, chief of Satun's office of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), told journalists Monday that international tourists, 80 per cent of whom are Malaysians, have flown to the Lee Pe Island since August 18. Jettakorn said Malaysian tourists apparently consider "naturalness Satun" as a safe tourism haven close to Malaysia and convenient for their travels, particularly the Lee Pe Island, renowned as a most tourist attraction for Asian travellers namely Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. The provincial TCT chief said that Satun's marine tourism in the annual low-seasonal period currently, covering that on the Lee Pe Island, grew by some 30 per cent year-on-year, compared with the same period of last year, thanks to warmer but better weather conditions with less monsoon storms so far, projecting more active tourism in Satun during the high-seasonal travelling period late this year, from October onward, if the weather remains favourable. According to Satun's TCT president, the number of European tourist arrivals in Satun has dropped due to impacts from the ongoing eurozone debt crisis. (TNA)