Expat hubbies urged to back Isan
Expat hubbies urged to back Isan
By Sumeth Wannapruek
TAT wants them to promote tourism
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)'s Northeastern Office in Khon Kaen has launched a cultural tourism project that is hoping to transform expatriates married to Thai women from the Northeast into spokesmen for the region's tourist attractions. The office plans to wow the expatriate husbands with the region's tourist attractions in the hope that it will prompt them to spread the word about Isan to their friends and family back home.
The married couples will be taken on a tour of famous attractions and will be shown traditional activities in Roi Et, Khon Kaen and Maha Sarakham between March 3 and 4.
Nuan Sarnsorn, the director of the TAT's Northeastern Office Region 3, said the number of participants is limited to 15 couples.
Each couple will be charged 1,101 baht to go on the trip and translators will be on hand to help the foreigners.
''In the future, we hope the foreigners, who are sons-in-law of Isan people, will volunteer themselves as spokesmen for our tourism campaign.
''They will gain first-hand experience during the tour, and hopefully they will tell friends and families back home to visit Thailand,'' Mr Nuan said.
The tour itinerary begins with a visit to the famous Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon pagoda at Wat Nong Waeng in Khon Kaen's Muang district on March 3. The couples will be taken to an exhibition hall where historical information about Khon Kaen and artifacts are on display.
They will then visit Ban Phaeng in Maha Sarakham's Kosum Phisai district, famous for its top-quality reed mats.
The couples will also be invited to participate in Roi Et's annual merit-making festival called Boon Pha Wet, among a number of other activities.
Bangkok Post
Foreign husbands urged to promote Thai wives' hometowns
Foreign husbands urged to promote Thai wives' hometowns
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Foreign men married to Thai women from the kingdom's impoverished northeast are being urged to become spokesmen for the region's tourist draws, the tourism authority said Sunday.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand's northeast office told AFP that they plan to give expatriate husbands a tour of the sights in the hope that they will then promote the wonders of the Issan region to people back home.
"We want to encourage these foreign husbands, of which there are a great number in the northeastern region, to travel and understand the culture of Thai people," said Somporn Chaloothong, an official at the Khon Kaen tourism office.
"We hope these husbands will help distribute the cultural knowledge of Thailand to their relatives in foreign countries," she told AFP.
She said that 15 married couples would be given a tour of attractions and traditional activities on March 3-4 in three northeastern provinces -- but would have to pay 1,101 baht (32 dollars) for the pleasure.
Issan is the poorest region of Thailand, but is known for its beautiful countryside and traditional way of life.
Many of the region's young women move to Bangkok or other big cities and resorts to find work and send money back home, and often end up marrying foreign men they meet there.
Agence France-Presse
