January 29, 2005

Shows to lure back visitors

WASSANA NANUAM

 Pattani _ Big celebrations and a light and sound shows will be held for a

week next month to lure tourists back to Chao Mae Lim Kor Niew Shrine, after

the southern violence cut tourist visits.

 Violence in the deep South has cut tourist arrivals to the famous shrine by

around 90% in the past year.

 Pattani governor Cherdphan Na Songkhla said the province would organise the

celebrations at the revered shrine with tight security from Feb 20-26 to

attract tourists to Pattani as violence in three southern border provinces

had kept both Thai and foreign tourists at bay and badly hit the local

economy.

 The activities would include walking through water and fire and light and

sound shows about the history of Chao Mae Lim Kor Niew and the Krue Se

mosque as well as the history of Pattani _ previously part of the Langkasuka

Empire, became Pattani Darussalam state and then a part of Thailand, he

said.

 He said a festival featuring Thai, Chinese and Muslim food would be part of

the fair as Pattani was a melting pot of Thai, Chinese and Islamic cultures

and had experienced no religious conflicts, despite the ongoing troubles.

 Prayoondej Khananurak, president of Chao Mae Lim Kor Niew Shrine

Foundation, said violence in the South last year caused a 90% decline in

tourist arrivals to the 400-year-old shrine and a seven-million-baht loss,

as it usually earned 10-15 million baht a year.

 The Feb 20-26 celebrations at the shrine would help restore tourism in

Pattani which should improve during Chinese New Year earlier next month with

more visits by Thai, Malay and Singaporean tourists if the situation is

stable, he said.

 He said the restoration of Chao Mae Lim Kor Niew's graveyard near the Krue

Se mosque was continuing with a landscaping plan being considered by the

Fine Arts Department since the cemetery was part of an ancient heritage

building.