Mr Wichaya was met by Suraphon Svetasreni, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and officials from Trang OrBorJor, Trang Chamber of Commerce and Nok Air, who presented him with a special certificate at the Departure Lounge of Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok before he got on the aircraft to fly to Trang.
Trang, with its 199-kilometre shoreline along the Andaman Sea, received a total of 910,000 visitors, domestic and foreign, between January and the end of October. With the number of people arriving daily averaging 3,200, it was calculated that the millionth visitor of 2012 would arrive on November 29.
By the end of 2012, Trang is expected to record 1.15 million visitors, an increase of 14 per cent over 2011. Official statistics show that 70 per cent of total visitors are Thai.
Factors that have contributed to the tourism growth, the TAT says, are the increased flights by Nok Air and Thai AirAsia, the absence of natural disasters and a stable social and economic situation, “thanks to a combination of private and public sector policies that are designed to ensure a balance between the local cost of living and income levels of the local people”.
Most of the foreign visitors, the TAT says, are European, especially from the Scandinavian countries who enjoy long-stay leisure holidays at the beachfront bungalows, mostly between November and March.
More recently, there has been strong growth in arrivals from neighbouring Malaysia, where TAT and the Thai tourism private sector have done extensive promotions.
Mr. Charun Chuennaitom, Director of TAT’s Trang Office, said, “Trang is another alternative destination for regional and global visitors. The province has a unique local culture, abundance of natural resources and outstanding cuisine.”
Highlights of Trang include the underwater Emerald Cave, the nearby Mu Ko Petra National Park, and wildlife sanctuaries such as Namtok Khao Chong and Khlong Lamchan Park with their waterfalls, nature trails, and caves.
The waters off Trang have also become a refuge of the threatened dugong. Koh Libong is one of the best places to spot these docile sea mammals which have become the unofficial symbol of Trang.
Trang city, the provincial capital, is a centuries-old seaport with a multicultural population of Thai, Malay, and Hokkien Chinese, a mixture that influences local cuisine.