Esaan becoming a key tourist destination

THE Tourism Authority of Thailand is seizing the opportunity of  Esaan  being chosen by CNN as one of 17 best places to vacation in this year to launch a new campaign linking its attractions in an effort to draw more visitors, Thai News Agency said today (March 4).

While Esarn, or the country’s Northeastern region, is rich in culture, tradition and nature at its best this is not well known among foreigners.

That CNN selected Esaan as one of 2017’s best places to holiday in is because of the region’s unique traditional communities which have not yet been swallowed up by capitalism while having standard infrastructure to meet visitors’ needs.

Among Esaan’s best tourist attractions are the following:

• Phu Kradueng National Park in Loei province which has a high point of 1,316 meters (4318 feet) elevation at Khok Moei with this being a sandstone formation topped with the summit plateau roughly square-shaped and 60 square kilometers (37,500 rai) in size.
• Sam Phan Bok, Ubon Ratchathani  is often compared to the Grand Canyon because of its gorge that is around seven meters deep and up to 20 meters wide. It is made up of sandstone cliffs that run along the Mekong River, and holes carved out of rocks. Sam Pan Bok, when translated to English, literally means ‘3,000 holes’. These holes were formed over millions of years, which make it even more fascinating.
• Ban Chiang archeological site, Udon Thani has been on the UNESCO world heritage list since 1992. Discovered in 1966, the site attracted enormous publicity due to its attractive red painted pottery.
• Prasat Hin Phanom Rung Historical Park, Buriram is a beautiful ancient temple complex set on the rim of an extinct volcano at 402 meters (1,319 feet) elevation. It was a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva.

However Esaan food is another outstanding feature which CNN highlighted especially sticky rice and raw papaya salad and in fact to get the real flavor of this dish one should eat it at the place of origin.

TAT believes all this will help build up tourism in Esaan and has laid out plans to welcome more foreign and Thai visitors.

Earlier CNN, after consulting its experts around the world, chose the following 17 best places to vacation in this year:

1. Prince Edward Island, Canada
2. Penang, Malaysia
3. Colombia
4. Bermuda
5. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in USA
6. Isaan, Thailand
7. Bhutan
8. Chengdu, China
9. Aarhus, Denmark
10. Bordeaux, France
11. Western Iceland
12. Albania
13. Amman, Jordan
14. Rwanda
15. Senegal
16. Houston, United States
17. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

CAPTIONS:

Top: View from Lom Sak Cliff on Phu Kradueng Mountain. Photo: Thai  News Agency

Inset: Sam Phan Bok in Ubon Ratchathani is often compared to the Grand Canyon. Photo: Tourism Authority of Thailand

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