Hat Yai, the largest city in Southern Thailand, tries to change its reputation of being only a cheap destination for shopping, food and –sleezy-nightlife. First changes are already visible in town but more promotion needs now to be done to attract more international travellers.
HAT YAI- Going to Hat Yai is not really discovering Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand or even Nakhon Si Tammarat, another major city in Southern Thailand. Both Chiang Mai and Nakhon Si Tammarat can claim to have preserved their historical heritage. Chiang Mai has a myriad of historical temples and old houses; Nakhon Si Tammarat has one of Thailand’s most famous temple, the 1000-year old Wat Phra Mahathat and has managed to preserve some of its old walls. Visitors will desperately look for anything historical in Hat Yai. For the ones with an interest for historical sightseeing, this city of over 220,000 inhabitants still has a few wooden houses scattered around the rail station, two or three 60 to 80-year old temples and a row of five houses built in Peranakan style –a blend of Chinese and Malay architecture- dating back from the early 20th century.
But despite its lack of attractive sites, Hat Yai remains a top destination in Thailand. “We welcome a total of three million domestic and international travellers per year. And if we just consider international arrivals, they still reach 800,000 per year”, says Prapas Inthanapasart, Head of the regional office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Hat Yai. Most of the foreign travellers are Malaysians –mostly from Chinese ethnics- and Singaporeans. “Both markets have a share of 40% in all arrivals. We also welcome some Indonesians and foreigners who come to Hat Yai to further go to Malaysia to renew their visa to Thailand,” acknowledges TAT Director.
However, TAT is working with the Municipality of Hat Yai to give new inflections to tourism to entice new markets to come there beyond the usual trio of cheap shopping/food/entertainments favoured by a majority of Malaysians and Singaporeans. A blessing in disguise has been the massive flooding of August 2010 which turned the streets of Hat Yai into canals. The damage caused to houses and city structures was a good opportunity to spruce up the city. “We started to take down electric cables and to run them underground. Then new lights were installed, a fountain built in the middle of town. But best of all, a row of houses in the city centre in Niphat Uthit Street 1 were repainted with bright colours. “We signed a MoU with a painting company to acquire at special prices coats of painting. Then we shared with owners the cost of the renovation,” tells Surachat Leckhao, General Secretary at Hat Hay Municipality.
The result is surprisingly pleasant. Characterless houses from the seventies with their bright colours suddenly reveal all the details of their architecture. The banality of buildings has then be turned into little gems of kitsch with their iron windows, old-style signage and old-fashioned shop-windows. It is now fun to just stroll around the area to point out all the details at these renovated houses. Two more streets are due to be painted this year for the Queen of Thailand’s birthday. And it is probable that the entire city centre might somedays shine in vivid colours.
“We are now working on a plan to provide guiding tours in the historical district consisted of Niphat Uthit Streets. We also look at creating a museum of Hat Yai history, which is due to open next year”, adds the Municipal Clerk. Signage with explanations for travellers could help highlighting some of the sites worth visiting.
TAT works also hard with the Municipality to create new attractions as well as promoting events and festivals. “We want to create a special event every month such as concerts, exhibition, sport competition or food festivals. We already organize the 2-Seas Seafood Festival in neighbouring Songkhla City in June, the Vegeterian Food Festival in October as well as the Lantern Festival from November to February. New attractions such as a Cable Car to access the temple of the giant statue of Buddha Mongkol Maharat or the new Ice Dom in the City Park are part of this diversification,” explains TAT Prapas Inthanapasart.
Hat Yai is also turning more sophisticated. A positive evolution, which could in return deeply transformed the profile of visitors. They are more boutiques of antiques or local designers as well as trendy cafes in the city centre. The 2013 planned opening of the upmarket Central Festival Shopping Mall, will further boost the appeal of Southern Thailand’s metropolis. The only regret is the absence of a truly international hotel chain in town. So far, only Centara Hotel in the First Class segment and Tune Hotel in the budget category partially fulfil this requirement for a better notoriety.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
