'One-stop service needed' for tourism investment

Thailand will miss out on tourism investment after the launch of the full-scale Asean Economic Commu-nity (AEC) in 2015 if state agencies do not take the initiative to form a one-stop service window like Cambodia and Myanmar, an academic said yesterday. Those countries have realised the importance of having a single body to provide such a service, which improved their investment climate by making it easier for foreigners to do business, said Assistant Professor Thanavath Phonvichai, vice president for research at the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting. The two countries also have a clear vision that the tourism industry is among the first priorities as they work to alleviate poverty. Investing in the tourism industry in Thailand involves many ministries such as Foreign, Commerce and Interior, which is an investment barrier, he said. Thailand still lacks practical regulations to promote tourism. According to the "TAT Tourism Poll: AEC", this country ranks ninth in the 10-nation Asean bloc on this issue, beating only Myanmar. Vietnam was tops, followed by Singapore, Indo-nesia, Cambodia, Brunei, the Philip-pines, Malaysia and Laos. Practical regulations include easy visa procedures, promotions of new tourism sites and measures to address inconveniences faced by foreign visitors. The centre in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) conducted the survey from September 30 to October 7 on 400 people working in restaurants, hotels, travel and ticketing agencies, and souvenir shops to check the readiness of operators for the opening of the AEC. The poll found that 53 per cent believed that Thai tourism would gain more opportunities than it lost from the AEC. Benefits include rising tourist arrivals and sales, along with the free flow of visitors without visas. About 58 per cent said they were moderately prepared for the AEC. Only 28 per cent were strongly ready, while 64 per cent said foreign languages would be a handicap for Thai tourism. However, 46 per cent thought that, looking at the whole picture after the AEC opening, Thailand was still at a low level of readiness to handle issues. They agreed that Thailand was the top destination for "value for money", followed by Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Brunei. On all aspects of safety, the result was disappointing. Thailand was ranked fifth behind Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Laos. Sourced: nationmultimedia