Praise for new minister

BANGKOK Tourism Council of Thailand expects the new Minister of Tourism and Sports, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, to work closely with the private sector.
She comes from the private sector as chairperson of Toshiba Thailand, a business her family runs in a joint venture with Toshiba Japan.
Despite her silver spoon legacy, she is credited with being one of the most successful people in Thailand a status that the TCT president, Piyaman Techapaibul, said bodes well for the future of tourism.
“The new minister’s strength is coordination. She can work with many people and organisations.”
The president added: “Tourism can’t go it alone amid tough competition. It needs to work with many other organisations.”
Despite the optimism the new minster will have her work cut out for her. She has no background in either sports or tourism and lacks grassroots knowledge of the latter at a time when it is facing the challenges of the ASEAN Economic Community , due to start in early 2015.
But it is typical response whenever a new minister is appointed. People fall over backwards heaping praise on someone who takes the top post governing one of the country’s major industries without any working knowledge of how the industry functions.
Fortunately Thailand’s tourism industry is robust enough to motor on regardless of who heads the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, but veterans in the industry would have preferred someone with a track record in a segment of tourism, such as aviation.
She will not lack well wishers and at least for the first year she is unlikely to be criticised or challenged.
“Although Mrs Kobkarn is keen on manufacturing without direct experience in the service industry, she could coordinate with all stakeholders on both private and government sides,” said the TCT president
She is now in the honeymoon phase, stepping out into the limelight with everyone presenting flower bouquets. Time will only tell if she is as capable as the pundits suggest. More to the point is she prepared to knock the industry into shape to take advantage of AEC 2015, or just smile for the cameras?
TCT urged the new minister to address the major weak points of the industry such as the quality of human resources, depth of logistics and infrastructure, and profusion of illegal hotels.
Besides heading Toshiba Thailand Company, Mrs Kobkarn has a reputation for fighting corruption. She had also been worked with many public and private organisations including the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
Mrs Kobkarn is the first woman Minister of Tourism and the first person to take the post who is not linked to a dominant political party.
She is the eighth minister following Mr Somsak Pureesrisak who was appointed Minister of Tourism and Sports, 9 April 2013 up to 22 May 2014. He replaced the late Mr Chumpol Silpa-archa, who died January 2013.
Mrs Kobkarn is one of only two females in the 32-members Cabinet list besides Mrs Apiradi Tantraporn who was appointed as deputy minister of Commerce.

sourced:ttrweekly.com