Government Pushing Thailand Riviera Development

The government is set to push forward with the ambitious “Thailand Riviera” large-scale tourism initiative.

According to the Bangkok Post the target provinces made public by Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat are Petchchburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumporn and Ranong.

Specific zones in these provinces under the original “Riviera” plan that date to the time of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra include hotels, marinas, entertainment and tourism attractions.

What is interesting is the move comes in the wake of the current government’s EEC plan for the Eastern Seaboard and the ongoing country-wide push for highs-speed trains to cross the Kingdom.

In the early 2000’s Thailand’s surging low-cost airline carriers created a new mass market and as we look past 2020, this is set to be the era of train tourism.

For destinations like Hua Hin which garners over 70% of its tourism market domestically, the new connectivity is clearly a game changer.

Suddenly as we have seen the impact on both Thai and foreign investment into the EEC, the expansive coastline of Petchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan look to undergo a real estate boom.

Could Phuket be facing an East versus West challenge, as the Gulf of Thailand is looking to up their stakes in the key island economic indicators such as hotels, tourism and marinas?

Bangkok’s developers over the past decade have been focused on following the BTS railway network but now the impetus of change linking up the entire country and plotting further crossing borders for China and Malaysia connections.

LCC’s are continuing to change tourism’s footprint but in the bigger picture railways could propel a completely new trajectory looking ahead.