Thailand Casinos Up in the Air
12 September 2005
Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pracha Maleenont, was recently reported as saying that the government has revived plans to introduce casinos to Thailand as a way of boosting the tourism industry. Thailand has had fewer than 6 million visitors since the tsunami tragedy, which is far from the authority’s target of 13.4 million visitors for 2005.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra first revealed his plan a year ago as a measure to compete with Hong Kong's Disneyland for tourists, but came under fire by devout Buddhists, who warned that the casinos would encourage gambling and social problems. That being said, only 700,000 tourists were reported to have arrived in Bangkok in August.
The government has announced that four casinos are currently in planning; one in each of four regions, out of Thailand's six in total. Two will be located in main tourist destinations such as Phuket or Pattaya, and the two remaining ones would be built in less popular places.
In addition to the casinos, the government is planning on introducing Chiang Mai Night Safari as a new tourist attraction. The Safari, which is scheduled to open this November, will feature a night safari, theme park, monorail system and traditional Lanna activities. Also in the works are more licenses for duty-free shops in the three southern provinces of Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga, which were devastated by December's Tsunami.
Source: Authorized Online Casinos News Staff
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