Ban on government travel

BANGKOK Travel association leaders have called on the government to allow officials to attend seminars in neighbouring countries using land transport following the government’s ban on overseas trips to attend seminars and meetings.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced the ban during his weekly televised talk late last month. He reminded officials that it was their duty to manage the country’s budget efficiently and to host meetings in the country to support domestic tourism.
The PM argued that there were adequate meeting facilities throughout the country that could host government meetings.
“If necessary, agencies can invite exerts from abroad to speak in Thailand, which would be a more cost-effective than travelling overseas to seminars,” the PM said.
inside no 1“It would be a lot cheaper if you invite foreign lecturers to give speeches here in the country. I don’t want to see you spending unnecessarily on these overseas trips. It would also be a way to promote the country’s tourism sector. Moreover when these lecturers come to Thailand, they will see the situation in the country and report positively on their return home.”
Thai Hotels Association president, Surapong Techaruvichit, said the tourism sector agreed but the government should allow officials to make overseas trip to neighbouring countries using land transport.
“It is ok to ban officials from taking trips by airlines but we should also consider that overland travel between Thailand and neighbouring countries should be allowed to boost the region’s ecomony and tourism.”
The president said: “The association is collecting information on hotels in the north and northeast bordering Laos and Myanmar that could be impacted if the ban is not eased.”
The president added: “THA is preparing a letter requesting the government to allow officials to travel abroad via land transport to reduce the negative impact on the ASEAN region.”
Association of Domestic Travel president, Yutthachai Soontronratthanavate, agreed that relaxing the ban to allow overland travel would benefit Laos and Malaysia.
“For example, tourism operators in Nong Khai usually book officials for trips to Luang Prabang and Vientiane in Laos, while operators in Betong in Yala or Hat Yai take them to Malaysia,” he explained.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia