TRAVEL & TOURISM
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Cluster development plan will help tourism related SMEs to grow

Municipality Officers receive performance training

Fresh longan from the North on its way to Chonburi

The powerful flavors of Issan available from Pattaya’s itinerant vendors

Cooperation needed to meet nation’s energy saving goal

Cluster development plan will help tourism related SMEs to grow

Suchada Tupchai

Cluster development of the tourism industry along the Eastern Seaboard was the subject of a seminar staged at Ambassador City in Jomtien, organized by Burapha University and conducted by Pak Thongsom, who is deputy director of the medium and the small cluster support department.

(L to R) Pak Thongsom, deputy director of the medium and small cluster support department, Assistant Prof Ratchaneeporn Srapayakranon, director of the technical service bureau at Burapha University, and Assistant Prof Kriangsak Pramphan, deputy dean of the student activity department at Burapha University.

Seven SME industrial groups with links to tourism have been identified, such as those dealing in fresh and preserved fruits, seafood, jewelry, and in vehicle maintenance.

During the first half of this year they have been studied to see ways of increasing potential, and a performance plan has been drawn up for each group. The seminar was designed to exchange ideas and present experiences on the project to date.

Member of Parliament Sa-Nga Tanasa-Nguanwong, who is also president of the Tourism Commission, attended the meeting and said that SME support needs readiness from each department and good management. The provincial governor’s office is also an important component in supporting SMEs in the East, he said, as is structural planning, especially as Chonburi is growing so quickly.


Municipality Officers receive performance training

Ariyawat Nuamsawat

A training session for 100 municipality officers was conducted at city hall on July 25, the purpose being to update their knowledge of the civil and criminal laws.

Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn opened the training session for municipality officers.

Opening the session, Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn said that the city is becoming larger and increasingly complex. Government officials have to know and understand their own responsibilities in order not just to help make the city work in a peaceful and efficient manner but also for residents to have confidence in government departments and officials.

Specific attention was paid during the course to the Pattaya Administration Act 1999, Pattaya City regulations regarding the Control and Support of Tourism Act 1988, and the Building Act 1999. Amongst the specialists speaking were juristic officer Pattha Sriratda and sanitation expert Chatcawal Chimtin.


Fresh longan from the North on its way to Chonburi

Chatchanan Chaisree

An expected bountiful harvest of longan from the North this year, estimated at 640,000 tons, will see large quantities of this delicious fruit coming into Chonburi from growers in the key areas of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Payao, Lampang, Lamphun, Tak, Prae and Nan.

Longans on display at a mixed fruits shop.

A special low interest rate loan from the government to the growers’ cooperative should result in fast distribution and low prices.

Chonburi’s network of longan distributors will see the fruit on sale throughout the province, at outlets as diverse as hotels and department stores, shops in Laem Chabang and other industrial estates, and of course in the markets.

Grade A longan from Lamphun will be available with each pack carrying an official QC rating. A promotional campaign is also being staged throughout much of the country to ensure the growers obtain the maximum benefit of the harvest.


The powerful flavors of Issan available from Pattaya’s itinerant vendors

Chatchanan Chaisree

As tourism in Pattaya expands, the number of entrepreneurs also expands to supply the needs of the growing number of visitors and the ever-increasing population. This is particularly so in the food and beverage sector, because everyone has to eat.

Aunty, an experienced Issan food maker, sells her sauce of shrimp paste and chili with fried mackerel and Chinese sausage ... a delight for all Issan people.

Pattaya of course has an enormous number of food outlets, ranging from hotels and independent restaurants through to noodle stalls and hawkers.

Most of the street vendors are from Issan. Rotjana and her husband are two hawkers who arrived in Pattaya two years ago. At first they worked in a local restaurant, but their wages were not even enough to cover their living expenses. Then they had the idea of making and selling kanom jin, an Issan delicacy which they knew how to prepare well.

At first they wanted to have a cart or a sidecar, but didn’t have enough money for that. So they decided to use a picul. All that entails is a pole and two baskets, for a capital outlay of 260 baht. After that, outlay is just for the raw ingredients, which is quickly recouped if your product is good and people want to buy it.

Customers patronizing hawkers are looking for the authentic tastes of Issan, often having originated from the Northeast themselves. Hawkers specialize in various delicacies, and you will find items such as grilled chicken, som tum and sticky rice, fried fish, Chinese sausage, and the chili pastes and dips that make an Issan meal such an unforgettable experience.

Locals are not the only ones who enjoy an Issan meal from the hawkers; many tourists also like to try the food, and customers from pubs and bars are a regular source of income.

The vendors, who can make between 300 and 400 baht a day, all agree that food hygiene is of prime importance. This is of course in the interests of the public and the image of Pattaya itself, but undeniably getting a bad reputation for unclean food is not good for business. Consequently, unless a visitor is totally unused to the powerful flavors of Issan, a hawker meal is unlikely to have any ill effects.


Cooperation needed to meet nation’s energy saving goal

Suchada Tupchai

Chonburi Deputy Governor Preecha Kamolabut presided over an energy saving seminar organized by the policy and energy planning department of the Ministry of Energy, conducted in Jomtien on July 25. The seminar was attended by 150 Central and Eastern officers.

Chonburi Deputy Governor Preecha Kamolabut conducts the opening speech.

Pichai Chamnibannakorn, director of the Provincial Energy Department in Chonburi’s Region 3, said his department, which is under the Ministry of Energy, is a centre and a link for energy management between areas. Helping save energy is one of the duties of the department, and it cooperates with the policy and energy planning department.

The seminar was held to provide knowledge and understanding in saving power to officers and private organization personnel in the Central and Eastern bureaus.

Deputy Governor Preecha said resolving Thailand’s energy problems requires cooperation from all sectors, official, business, industrial and the public alike. The government has a goal to reduce consumption by 10-15 percent per year.

“To reach the goal of saving power we need knowledge, understanding and good planning, because a productive plan like a good compass will indicate the results of saving power,” said Preecha. “I believe that the attending officers will attain knowledge from this seminar to use in their daily lives, and transfer that knowledge to their colleagues and their families.”

The seminar showed delegates how to make a performance plan and to understand the benefits of teamwork. Guest speaker was Thana Puttarangsi, a specialist in reducing energy consumption.

This seminar has already been conducted in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Songkhla. A total of 1,100 people have attended, including officers and personnel from private organizations.

From Provincial Electricity Authority data in 2004 it was found that about 557,270,033 units of electricity were consumed in the Central and Eastern offices. In 2003 the electricity consumed was 493,752,715It units, showing an increase of 11 percent over the one-year period.