Tourism Ministry fights litterbugs

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Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul (left) helps collect garbage off Pattaya Beach to raise awareness for “green tourism”.
Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul (left) helps collect garbage off Pattaya Beach to raise awareness for “green tourism”.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry held a “green tourism” presentation in Pattaya to raise awareness about the need to properly dispose of garbage.

Minister Kobkarn Watta­navrangkul presided over the June 24 event at Central Festival Pattaya Beach with city leaders and celebrities.

Kobkarn said that the Green Tourism Promotion and Development Project was launched in Pattaya as it is a famous tourist attraction with marine-tourism activities. Consequently, many tourists visit and the trend is for that to increase in coming years. More people, however, means more use of natural resources and garbage.

Too often, she said, garbage from tourist attractions is released into the sea. Most of it is non-biodegradable, including plastic bottles, lids of glass and plastic bottles, plastic bags and foam.

Kobkarn said the garbage-collecting campaign was launched to promote green tourism and raise awareness about the need for the tourism industry to protect the environment.

Moreover, it will help to reduce the amount of garbage released into the sea in order to promote tourism and get local residents to improve waste segregation and not litter.

After the talk, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul led a delegation to pick up trash on Pattaya Beach.