The least-populated province in Thailand, Ranong has great potential for the development of health tourism and its sea port, linking Thailand’s trade with South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America.
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha inspected Ranong province on 20 August 2018, before a cabinet retreat in Chumphon province on the following day. In Ranong, he visited the Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine Center at Ranong Hospital, the Raksawarin hot springs, and the Ranong Port.
In response to the Government’s policy of developing Thailand into a health and wellness tourism hub, Ranong has established the Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine Center to offer alternative medical services, especially hydrotherapy, or water cure, which involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment of certain diseases.
Ranong is a major source of natural hot springs, which are being developed as health tourism destinations to provide health and wellness services to both Thai and foreign tourists. The Government has a policy to develop Ranong into a health tourist and spa city, with the use of natural hot springs for health treatment and rehabilitation.
On the same day, the Prime Minister and his team also observed the management of the Ranong Port in Pak Nam subdistrict, Mueang district. Ranong Port serves as Thailand’s gateway for international trade with many foreign countries. It has become a major port in the Andaman Sea to facilitate shipping to other BIMSTEC countries, without passing through the Malay Peninsula. BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, comprises seven countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan.
The Prime Minister said that his administration attached great importance to the potential of Ranong and would push for the development of this province into a trade and logistics center in the Andaman Sea, linking with both BIMSTEC and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand-Growth Triangle, or IMT-GT.
He reiterated that the Government would also develop Ranong as a “smart city.” Ranong is among the four coastal provinces under the “Thailand Riviera” project, aimed at developing tourism on the country’s west coast. Apart from Ranong, the Thailand Riviera covers Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, and Chumphon.
Source: National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT) National News Bureau & Public Relations : http://thainews.prd.go.th
