Following a national push to improve Thailand?s tourism industry, provincial officials last month met with local tour operators and tourism-related businesses to spell out rules and regulations for the province?s key industry. More than 200 people attended the seminar on 24 June at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, which was presented by Vice Governor Worapot Ratasrima and officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Sport.

?In reference to the Tourism Industry Act of 2008 announced on 6 April, we would like to acknowledge tour companies and tour guides and also to work with them so they can operate according to the rules,? said Somprasong Khomphat, assistant director of the Office of Tourism Development. ?We also want to improve the quality to bring the standard of the tourism industry to its highest potential. The Bureau of Tourism Business and Guide Registration and the Office of Tourism Development are especially concerned with Phuket Province, which is a very popular tourist destination.?

Police Major General Atthakrit Thareechat, commandant of the local Tourist Police, urged the group to work like a single organization, a network all concerned with the safety of tourists. Khun Worapot added that of all the provinces along the Andaman Coast, most tourists choose Phuket as their destination. To make Phuket an impressive destination and to improve the standard of local tourism, tourists must trust that the local government and local businesses are looking out for their safety, he said.