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Tourism operators are
unhappy with progress
Tourism operators on the Koh Chang
resort island have expressed concern over the snail-paced progress of a plan
to turn the island into an upmarket tourist destination after the overthrow
of the Thaksin Shinawatra regime. Concern was raised after the interim
government slashed the development budget for the island and indicated
possible changes to the board of directors of the Designated Area for
Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta), a public organisation overseeing
the island's development work. Many tourism projects are currently
encountering delays as investors are required to submit their projects to
Dasta, which has been slow in approving them, said tour operator Jaroenchai
Jaroensapwichit.
''The agency must speed up its work,''
he said. Dasta was founded in 2003 under the deposed Thaksin government's
tourism promotion scheme. The scheme's work also includes the construction
of the Chiang Mai Night Safari, besides developing Koh Chang and Koh Phi
Phi. The plan is to turn the two islands into tourism paradises for high-end
tourists.
The agency, headed by former permanent
secretary for environment Plodprasop Suraswadi, was assigned to oversee
development of the Koh Chang project worth over three billion baht. It is
required to finish the job by 2010, but its future now looks dim after the
departure of the Thaksin administration.
The National Legislative Assembly late
last year cut by half the 2007 budget of 487 million baht for Dasta.
Locally, the budget cuts are being
taken as good news by people unhappy with the previous government and Dasta.
Many Koh Chang villagers have
criticised the agency for ignoring the locals' opinions on how to develop
the island. The project has also caused land disputes and impacted badly on
the envionment in many areas.
''Dasta should be dissolved because it
has done little or nothing for the villagers,'' said tambon Koh Kud
administration organisation chairman Surachai Jan-op.
The villagers and the TAO had so far
been restricted from carrying out their own development projects as they
could not be implemented without the approval of Dasta, he said.
However, Prasart Rimchala, director of
Dasta's office for Koh Chang and its satellite islets, insisted that Dasta's
work had done more good than harm to the island. ''The island is growing as
you can see from the number of hotels and resorts that are coming up.
Everything is going well,'' he said.
According to the Trat tourism business
association, the number of tourists has increased gradually since Mr Thaksin
announced his plan to make Koh Chang the ''Phuket of the East''. But its
present trend could be cut short by the New Year's bombings, which would
also in turn deliver a blow to Dasta. ''After the bombings, around 10% of
visitors to Koh Chang decided to leave the island for fear of their
safety,'' said the association's chairman Kampon Jaroenkajornkul.
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