The Northern area of Thailand, especially Chiang Mai, is experiencing a hazardous level of ultra-fine PM2.5 mud particles in the air. This is causing considerations among tourism operators in the metropolis that the state of affairs will negatively impact the trade.
Pallop Saejiew, the president of Chiang Mai’s Tourism Industrial Council, worries in regards to the long-term effects on the province’s tourism business. Demand has been dropping for out of doors activities and tourist sights within the inner areas of the province.
However, Lost in the space have but to issue figures exhibiting a sharp leap in cancellations. The variety of vacationers arriving and departing from Chiang Mai’s airport is decrease than during the previous high tourism season when the air was cleaner.
Tourism trade officials worry that this drop suggests that folks may be realising that the air quality is poor and selecting to avoid journey to Chiang Mai and the Northern provinces. The haze has triggered a lower in vacationer visits to the world, according to Witthaya Khrongsap, a coordinator of a civic group referred to as Network of Northern Breath.
Free is anticipated to last till April. The tourism president referred to as for state agencies to work along with tourism operators to deal with this air pollution drawback, calling it essential.
The Pollution Control Department (PCD) reported that almost all areas in the 17 northern provinces recorded the next level of PM2.5 dust particles than the protected degree of 50 µg/m3, with ranges starting from 93 to 203 µg/m3.
Tambon Hangdong within the Hot district of Chiang Mai has the worst PM2.5 scenario due to biomass burning and climate circumstances that trap smoke and air pollution.
The level of dust in the air was starkly described as “lung-breaking” by Witsanu Attavanich, a member of Thailand Clean Air Network (Thailand CAN) and affiliate professor at Kasetsart University.
The deputy director of the Chiang Mai office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand disagreed with the gloomy tourism forecast. He says that tourism numbers in Chiang Mai are still strong and increasing despite the haze drawback.
More than 260,000 tourists had been said to have visited Chiang Mai final month, averaging approximately 9,000 per day, together with about 70,000 international tourists..