Pokemon poke for domestic tourism

17 Aug 2016  2049 | World Travel News

BANGKOK Pokemon hunters could help to put Thailand’s ‘Hidden Gems destinations’ on the map if the Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, has his way.

He hopes to convince Niantic Labs, the developer of the Pokemon Go mobile phone game, to release rare Pokemon in and around the 12 destinations that Thailand has identified as “Hidden Gems”.

Promotion of the 12 secondary destinations is part of a wider TAT campaign to spread the benefits of tourism to smaller towns and support local communities.

inside no 5Pokemon Go sends players on a hunt to capture beasts that appear at specific sites on their mobile phone map. The further afield from home the more likelihood that game players will encounter rare Pokemon.

The game app uses GPS to track the user’s whereabouts and overlays relevant little monsters on the graphic map or  images at the player’s current location.

The more common Pokemon appear in and around the player’s neighbourhood. As the game uses real-world maps, finding the little beasts requires the player to walk around the neighbourhood.

Once a monster pops up on the screen map, the player taps it to start the capture screen that launches a Pokemon ball and if the aim is accurate it engulfs the monster. The objective is to capture the highest number of the tiny cyber critters to assist in future game battles.

The type of Pokemon that appear on a player’s travels will depend on the environment encountered. Parks are more likely to yield grass-type beasts, while going to the beach, or anywhere near water, should deliver water monsters.

Rare Pokemon, as the name suggests, are Holy Grail for passionate players. There are very few of them close to home and Pokemon Go players believe there could  be six of the rarest monsters that have yet to be captured anywhere in the world since the developer launched the game app in July.

inside no 5.1Pokemon Go was launched in Thailand, 6 August, after the international launch in Australia, New Zealand and the United States 6 July.

Overlaying rare Pokemon on mobile phone maps at the 12 Hidden Gems destinations in Thailand could attract thousands of players that are prepared to travel far-and-wide to make a capture.

According to the TAT it will ask the developer to add rare Pokemon that pop up at specific tourist destinations specifically during weekdays and some could be activated in the evenings to encourage travellers to stay overnight.

Recruiting the help of  Pokemon Go would boost domestic tourists, to the 12 destinations, possibly led by young teenage players who would in turn recruit their families or friends to join them.

The 12 Hidden Gems cities are: Lampang; Phetchabun; Nan; Buriram; Loei; Samut Songkhram; Ratchaburi; Trat; Chanthaburi; Trang; Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The only restrictions on how the game pans out are the speed and capacity of the Internet connection in public locations across the country, the life of the mobile phone’s battery and the depth of the player’s wallet to pay for playtime that could easily exhaust the value of a mobile phone package.

(Note: There is a lure module that can be activated during the first 30 minutes use of the app. It has been employed by ill-intentioned people and possibly sex offenders to lure teenagers to quiet spots,  purportedly in search of a rare Pokemon. It places young players at serious risk. Parents should warn children who are avid Pokemon fans of this potential danger.)

sourced:ttrweekly.com 

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