Green Destinations Top 100 Stories Lists 6 Thai Towns in 2024 Edition

Six Thai destinations have been listed in the 2024 Green Destinations Top 100 Stories, further reiterating the country’s direction towards tourism development. Submitted by the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), the stories of Chiang Khan and Songkhla City were both recognised in the Thriving Communities category, U Thong Ancient City in Destination Management, and Wiang Phu Phiang Chae Haeng in Culture and Tradition. Meanwhile, the stories of Hua Hin by the city’s Municipality and Uthai Thani Old Town by the town’s municipality were recognised in the Environment and Climate, and the Culture and Tradition categories, respectively.

Statement

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said “TAT congratulates DASTA, Hua Hin Municipality and UThai Thani Town Municipality as well as the people of all six destinations for their initiatives and efforts in sustainable tourism practices. These recognitions reflect TAT’s vision to position Thailand as a sustainable, experience-based tourism destination in line with our ‘Amazing Thailand: Your Stories Never End’ communication concept.”

The six places mentioned are:

• Chiang Khan – Managing Tourism Impact through Participatory Processes
• Hua Hin – Hua Hin, The Journey to become the garbage-free city
• Songkhla City – Songkhla Old Town Revival: A Community-Driven Transformation
• U Thong Ancient City – U Thong’s heritage revival: Up to Sustainable Development by the spirit of Civil Society
• Uthai Thani Old Town – Preserving our pride: the country’s last raft house community
• Wiang Phu Phiang Chae Haeng – Together We Rise: How a Hok Peng Festival Became a Reviving

They join ten existing good practice stories from Thailand that have been recognised by the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories between 2020-2023. Two of these stories – Huai Pu Keng’s community-based tourism practice and Ko Mak’s low-carbon destination effort – also won the Green Destinations Story Awards at the ITB Berlin 2023. Moreover, Chiang Khan became the first ASEAN destination to win the prestigious Green Destinations Award in Silver designation at the ITB Berlin 2024. Green Destinations unveiled the 2024 Top 100 Stories list through a virtual event and celebrated these accomplishments at an on-site ceremony at the Green Destinations 2024 Global Conference in Chile from 15-17 October. This year’s edition presents an inspiring collection of Good Practice Stories from 32 countries.