All roads lead North

Tourists heading for the (almost) frozen North this month may well face a crush

Are you thinking of spending the New Year's holidays and celebrating the countdown in the cold climate of the North? Better plan well in advance, as you will be joined by millions more visitors than in previous years.

The Flora Expo and chillier weather will induce people to head north more than the previous year, especially during the 10-day period from December 27 to January 5, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Over-crowded conditions are expected in the most popular destinations, especially the highland attractions of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son. Tourism officials of the three provinces confirmed that tourist figures would be much higher this year.

In Chiang Mai alone, arrivals will reach a record 4.5 million, said Junnapong Saranak, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Region 1.

In Chiang Rai, the figure is estimated at 1.3 million, around 10 per cent up from last year, TAT official Tanyapa Nikrothanont said.

Mae Hong Son expects to draw 6 per cent more visitors than last year, local tourist official Wisut Buachum said.

"There should be no problem if tourists are spread among sites. The problem is at popular destinations that many want to visit at the same time," Junnapong said.

Doi Inthanon is the best example.

"Everyone needs to reach the highest peak in Thailand, the summit of Doi Inthanon. Many of them plan to get a glimpse of the frost. Last year saw heavy traffic, but this year will be a lot worse," said Anan Sorn-ngai, superintendent of Doi Inthanon National Park.

"From November up to this week, visitor counts have already doubled since last year, so we plan to ban parking at the peak. All cars must stop at the staging centre," he said.

"That is already exceeding our capacity. Normally the park can accommodate 5,000 tourists per day, and 12,000 have shown up on New Year's Eve before now. This year we forecast 18,000 a day," he said.

The increasing influx of tourists has led the park to launch a special management system for visitors on New Year's Eve. Besides banning parking at its summit the measures include inducing tourists to spend their time viewing waterfalls, hiking natural trails, visiting tribal villages, observing royal projects and trying other nearby destinations while waiting for a place in the queue to experience the pinnacle of Thailand.

"Our officials will advise all motorists entering the park how to drive and where to stop or park," Anan said.

The best way to check the turnout at Doi Inthanon is to click on http://www.doiinthanon.com for online reports on the latest conditions, Anan said.

"We have officials stationed at popular sites in the park, and we will report real time both traffic and other necessary information like weather and alternative stops. Everything will be available 24 hours a day," said Issara Sirisaiyas of the Thailand Research Fund (TRF), who developed the website for the park.

"Visitors can also check the light version of this website on their mobile phones," he said.

"We hope it will help tourists to plan better before deciding to visit Doi Inthanon. In previous years, most visitors just drove up without advance planning. It should be different this year. We also asked over 200 tour-operators in Chiang Mai to check our website before submitting group bookings here," Anan added.

Tanyapa said such problems should not arise in Chiang Rai as tourists generally fanned out over various destinations in the northernmost province.

"We have also convinced tourists to not flock to particular sites at the same time by promoting different routes like the three mountain trails and the tulip road to Doi Pha Moen in Thoeng district," she said.

The mountain trails go to Cheefah, Kha and Langka in Chiang Rai, Nan and Phayao.

In Mae Hong Son, this year's top destinations will be Pai, Muang and Khun Yuam districts, Wisut said.

Pai is expected to face overcrowding in its small area, but local authorities will hopefully be able to handle it, he said.

"Booking hotels in advance is my recommendation, except if you plan to camp. Check the latest situation in each destination in Mae Hong Son at http://www.travelmaehongson.org before planning your long holiday," he said.

According to the Thai Hotel Association, only 11 of 36 major hotels in Chiang Mai still had vacancies yesterday while in Chiang Rai only one out of nine hotels was still taking bookings.

"If you have friends or relatives, I recommend that you stay with them. Over 90 per cent of hotels in Chiang Mai are booked. For those who plan to visit the Flora Expo and don't have tickets yet, only 5,000 tickets will be available at booths each morning in front of the expo. and most of them will be sold out in several hours," Junnapong said.

For the countdown, most northern provinces have prepared special events at popular locations. Mae Hong Son is ushering in the New Year at Norng Jongkham in Muang district, Chiang Rai's countdown is at the Thai-Burmese border in Mae Sai, and Chiang Mai is partying till dawn at Tha Phae Gate.

"Chiang Mai's countdown will be televised nationwide via a global network from 10pm to 10 minutes past midnight. There will be a giant screen at the gate showing the countdown atmosphere in major provinces for those who attend the event," Junnapong said.

The cold snap in the North which started this week will last until the middle of February, the Meteorological Department said.

"This will be a major magnet for tourists apart from the Flora Expo, which welcomed its two-millionth visitor last Friday," Junnapong said.

Kamol Sukin

The Nation

Chiang Mai

Mountaintop temperatures in North remain at 2-4 degrees

The Meteorological Department announced Saturday that cold weather remain in northern and northeastern provinces with mercurry dropping to about 2 to 4 Celsius degrees on the mountaintops in northern provinces.

The department issued a statement, saying that temperatures were about 2 to 4 degrees on the mountains in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Phayao, Nan and Loei.

The lowland temperatures in the provinces were about 7 to 8 decrees Sunday morning, the department said.

The Nation