Speaking in the conference room of Thai Village in Phuket Town to a crowd of around 300, Mr Abhisit said that the tour’s primary aim was for the Democrat Party to share its vision for the future of Thailand.
The 10 foundations proposed by the Democrat Party included four social foundations (conciliation, knowledge, welfare and justice), three economic foundations (agriculture, innovation and green economy), two political foundations (freedom and transparency) and a foundation of Thailand as the centre of Asean.
Phuket was selected as the first stop on the tour before Mr Abhisit visits other major provinces in the north, northeast and central Thailand.
Owing to Phuket’s consistency in bringing tourism income to Thailand, the Economic Foundation was an issue much discussed in the Phuket meeting.
“We have to think about innovation in tourism, and a green economy,” said Mr Abhisit. “The development can’t just be based on natural resources and labour exploitation. We must base it on knowledge.”
Mr Abhisit later went on to explain the term ‘knowledge’ as the application of culture to enhance the economy and the integration of multidisciplinary practices to lead a sustainable development.
“For example, property development needs good planning and policy. Otherwise, the over-expansion of the property market may lead us to a bubble economy,” said Mr Abhisit.
He added that he supported the setting up of a special local administrative system for Phuket, with a counsel from various professions, to design local economic systems that could “keep up with” Phuket's development.
“We may need to deliver more power to people and local authorities, so they can decide the direction of their future,” said Mr Abhisit.
When the tour is completed at the beginning of next month, the Democrat Party will gather all ideas to design Thailand’s “blueprint”, which may be proposed as a crucial part of the Democrat’s plans for Thailand’s future development, should they succeed in regaining power.