TOURISM experts and online travel platforms are welcoming the collaboration between e-commerce giant Alibaba and Thai tourism authorities to develop smart and digital tourism, although there are concerns over possible negative impacts.

Critics voiced concerns over a potential monopoly following a deal between Alibaba Group and Thai state agencies covering a number of areas, including tourism. Some also suggested the authorities needed measures to protect tourist attractions from an expected influx of foreign visitors.

Under a partnership deal on tourism, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will expand cooperation with Fliggy, Alibaba’s online travel business and China’s leading online travel service provider, to focus on support for smart and digital tourism in Thailand. As an official strategic partner of TAT, Fliggy will work with the agency to offer smart technological experiences at multiple facilities and tourist attractions across Thailand for the convenience of visitors – ranging from online tour guides to electronic ticketing systems.

“In any case, like it or not, we cannot bar Alibaba from entering Thailand. So the best approach is to ensure local tour operators are well prepared for increased competition,” said former TAT governor Pradech Phayakvichien. “They should adjust their approach and work out how they could get the most benefits out of the collaboration,” he suggested. “In the digital era, we need technology to help connect us to the world and potential customers.”

“But the most important thing for Thailand is that we preserve and protect our tourist attractions,” Pradech said.

“We have to maintain or improve the standard of our [tourist attractions]. If we leave our beaches damaged, how could the Alibaba travel platform help us sell them?” he asked.

Prominent marine ecologist Thon Thamrongnawasawat said he expected the collaboration to bring changes in the proportion of Chinese tourists coming to Thailand. Whereas most Chinese now tour the Kingdom in groups, there is potential to also attract many more couples and individuals. That would make it easier to cope with the arrivals and better distribute income to local vendors. Thon said boosting the number of Chinese tourists or their spending here should not be the main objective for the partnership, as the figures are already high.

Statistics show Thai tourism relies heavily on Chinese visitors. As of April, 30 per cent of all foreign tourists arriving in Thailand this year were Chinese, according to Thon, who is a member of the National Policy Committee for Tourism. Estimates are that tourism this year will generate about Bt3 trillion in revenues – a third of which is expected to come from Chinese tourists, he said. However, there is still concern over a possible surge in Chinese tourists following the collaboration. Pradech said authorities need to put measures in place to restrict the number of tourists at attractions where there are risks of damage.

Thon, who sits on the committee drafting the national strategy on environmental issues, said the draft plan would limit the number of foreign visitors to national marine parks to six million a year, to help protect marine resources from swift deterioration brought by heavy tourism traffic. Out of the six million visitors, four million are expected to be from China. “We are already in a ‘tourism trap’. Around 10 million Chinese tourists visit Thailand every year and generate around Bt1 trillion. If they are dissatisfied with us, what will happen” to Thailand’s tourism industry?” asked Thon.

Partnering with Alibaba

Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said in a recent press release that the agency would partner with Alibaba for tourism marketing activities through the giant’s online platforms, as well as connect with Alibaba’s other marketing channels to develop “big data” for the Thai tourism industry.

The partnership would help increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized tourism companies in terms of the development of new products and services that will attract more Chinese tourists to the country, he added. “We hope it will also help both new arrivals and return visitors from China discover emerging secondary destinations, so it is a ‘win-win’ situation for both parties,” he added.

Some critics voiced concern that Fliggy might monopolise the Chinese tourist market and affect local online travel agencies.

But others see a partnership with the giant firm in more positive terms, as an opportunity to expand the market. Amornched Jinda-apiraksa, CEO and co-founder of TakeMeTour, the largest marketplace for local tours in Thailand, said the collaboration would benefit Thai tourism in terms of getting more Chinese tourists into the country.

He said operating the travel business in the Chinese market is very challenging due to the language barrier and because Chinese tourists have specific behaviours and characteristics.

Amornched added that TakeMeTour this year planned to focus more on Chinese tourists, and that presents a good opportunity for Thai travel operators to offer their services and products directly to Chinese consumers on the Chinese platform.

The TAT has yet to give further details about the collaboration. Amornched said the format could be the opening of a Thai tourism shop or a flagship store on Fliggy.

TakeMeTour was one of six Thai start-ups and 37 Asian entrepreneurs joining the eFounders Fellowship Programme at Alibaba headquarters in Hangzhou, China, in March. Amornched said Alibaba has a strong ecosystem and his firm is willing to join the platform.

As a community-based online tourism platform that provides travel experiences in local communities around Southeast Asia, Somsak Boonkam, founder and chief executive of Local Alike, said his business may not be affected. That’s because the average Chinese tourist has no interest in community tours and only a small number have the taste for eco-friendly tourism.

Thon agreed. “You do not have to fear [about the Chinese platform snatching away customers.] The Chinese tend to buy Chinese goods, anyway,” Thon said.

As part of the collaboration, Fliggy and Ant Financial, Alibaba Group’s affiliate and operator of Alipay, are also in active discussions with various related government agencies to drive a digital transformation of Thai tourism.

Alipay, operated by Ant Financial, is China’s largest online payments and money transfer system, with more than 500 million active users. Thailand is among Alipay’s top three overseas-transaction hubs.

Somsak said using Alipay would help facilitate convenience to Chinese tourists with a familiar payment option when they travelled abroad. However, he urged the government to look into this matter carefully as there are concerns the system could allow massive outflows of money from the country.

Varithorn Sirisattayawong, research head for Kasikorn Research Centre, said Fliggy will help increase the number of Chinese tourists who choose Thailand through booking on the platform. It would benefit Thai banks and non-banks that offer international money transfers, payments and exchange, as they would receive additional transaction fees as the number of transactions increased.

Varithorn said the use of Alipay to arrange a visa on arrival and tourist tax refunds for Chinese tourists would not directly impact the business of Thai banks and non-banks

Influential scientist Jessada Denduangboripant, an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University, posted a section of the text on Facebook earlier this month, drawing comments like “The winners write the history” and “No matter how evil you are, you can be a hero.”

On Page 295, the book states:

“General Prayut Chan-o-cha as Prime Minister implemented policies of national and political reform for achievement of ‘true’ democracy in the country, eliminating corruption and using ‘moral principles’ to lead the country to become a ‘true democracy’.”

Many respected historians had raised objections to the claim when the book first appeared in October 2015, some describing it as “state ideology” rather than “historical science”.

But, until this month, few people outside academia have glimpsed the book, whose print run was relatively small, or heard the criticism. Now, Facebook has inflamed passions anew amid widespread belief that the military is preparing to cement its role in politics at the next elections.

Assistant Professor Dr Pitch Pongsawat of Chulalongkorn’s Political Science Faculty said it was normal for national leaders to seek out different ways of communicating with the public.

“Although many historians critiqued the book as ‘state propaganda’, it has its value as historical evidence, recording that the junta leader, Prayut, used the Culture Ministry to issue propaganda,” Pitch told The Nation. “By entering this into the historical record, they shame themselves in public.”

The junta – the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) – courted controversy soon after the May 2014 coup in which it seized power by declaring 12 “Thai values” that citizens should emulate, which were clearly nationalistic in character.

Then, one year later, the NCPO assigned the Culture Ministry’s Fine Arts Department to produce a book with the aim of fostering reconciliation between the two political camps whose warring had led to the coup.

Fine Arts Department historians wrote the book in a rush – within two months – under instructions from Prayut to promote patriotism and nationalism. The general himself contributed the prologue.

“Studying history is crucial to help us understand the sacrifices of our ancestors who maintained the integrity of the nation,” it says, “and to be grateful for the kindness of the great kings who defended the populace from all difficulties and hardships.”

Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat has said the ministry spent Bt1 million printing 10,000 copies of the book. Most went to schools and civic offices in all 77 provinces. Twenty copies autographed by Prayut were quickly sold at the launch.

The 208-page book – which can be read online at http://www.FineArts.go.th – contains three main sections, according to a review by veteran historian Charnvit Kasetsiri of Thammasat University. They cover the origins of the Thai nation and its evolution under absolute monarchy.

“The most controversial part appears in the last 15 pages,” Charnvit wrote in Art and Culture magazine in January 2017. “They cover Thailand in the modern period – since the revolution of 1932, which changed the system of government to a constitutional monarchy – to the present time under junta rule. It’s crucial that the authors judge and take sides, because in today’s Thai politics, the dust has yet to settle.”

Prayut also wrote in his prologue that he hoped readers would understand the “origin of the Thai nation” and be proud of “Thai national sovereignty”.

But historians found the NCPO version of history biased and conflicted, with events chosen specifically to benefit the junta’s political agenda.

At the 2015 launch, veteran historian Sunait Chutintaranond, director of the Southeast Asian studies programme at Chulalongkorn, concurred there was bias in the book’s account of recent history, especially beginning with Thaksin Shinawatra’s rise to power. He wondered how a prejudicial view of Thaksin jibed with the book’s intention to aid in reconciliation.

The Culture Ministry is planning to publish an English-language edition to distribute to Thai embassies around the globe.

“Bureaucrats writing history doesn’t work,” Sunait said. “It leads to further conflict.Writing history takes time and requires an exchange of ideas among both history academics and independent experts. No one can monopolise the writing of history anymore.”

The organisers said people nationwide would join the rally by sharing a post, which would be titled “Parallel online rally”, on the Facebook page of the network, demanding the restoration of the Doi Suthep forests.

Pannaros Buaklee, spokesman for the rally organisers, said it was expected that the post would be shared over 10,000 times before the count ended at noon on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference at noon on Saturday, the spokesman said the number of people gathered to demand the restoration of the forest would be high, so the organisers had to prepare measures to protect the demonstrators.

The rally will start at the Tha Pae Gate in Chiang Mai downtown at 7.30am, when the organisers plan to “turn Chiang Mai green” with cyclists and motorcyclists riding in procession bearing green ribbons.

Thirasak Rupsuwan, a coordinator of the network demanding restoration of Doi Suthep forests, said about 500 cyclists and 200 motorcyclists would join the rally.

The spokesman said the organisers agreed during a meeting on Saturday that the rally would have to be peaceful and it would have to be safe for demonstrators. And at the end of the rally, the organisers would make sure that no rubbish is left behind.

He said the procession from the rally site to the monument of the three northern kings would be “peaceful and beautiful”. The demonstrators plan to march from the Tha Pae Gate to the monument at 10am. The rally is scheduled to end before noon.

Thirasak said the organisers had coordinated with troops and police to ensure security during the rally.

After the end of the demonstration, the demonstrators would disperse peacefully and then wait for a decision by the government, Thirasak added. He said if the government ignored the call for the demolition of the residences, the organisers would step up more pressure on the administration.

Thirasak said the rally was aimed at sending a signal to the government that Chiang Mai people wanted the relevant agencies to take urgent action to end the controversy.

Meanwhile, Nikom Puttha, president of the Ping River Network, who has been staging a hunger strike in front of the Appeals Court Area 5 office since Wednesday, has walked from the court to the Tha Pae Gate to continue his hunger strike there and wait for the demonstrators on Sunday.