Tourism and Sports Ministry promotes cycling for tourism

BANGKOK, May 3 (TNA) -- Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat plans to promote cycling for tourism to increase national income. Cycling provided tourists with better and closer experiences in communities and such closer visits would help promote local products and cultures, the minister said. He sees high potential for tourism-related cycling, saying the country possessed a wide range of terrains, suitable roads and friendly local residents. The Tourism and Sports Ministry supports more than 600 cycling events yearly and each event draws up to about 1,000 participants. Cycling would help promote secondary tourist destinations because cyclists preferred such destinations to tourist attractions in major cities, he said. According to Mr Weerasak, the government will organise the L'Etape THAILAND by Le Tour De France cycling event in Phangnga province in October and November. There will also be cycling competitions from major tourist destinations to secondary tourist destinations. The country generated 1.5 billion baht worth of income from cycling events last year. Mr Weerasak expected the figure to reach 1.7 billion baht this year. (TNA)