Thai zoo offers discount for Lao visitors
Thai zoo offers discount for Lao visitors
Khon Kaen Zoo in Khon Kaen province, Thailand, is planning to offer discounts for Lao nationals visiting the zoo, in a bid to boost tourism in the province.
Zoo officials last week signed an agreement on the plan with Laos' Phongsavanh Bank.
�Under the scheme, the zoo offers privileges to Phongsavanh Bank customers by giving them a discount,� zoo representative Mr Thanachon Kensingh said at the agreement signing ceremony.
The bank's customers can use their ATM or credit cards to get a discount of 30 percent on entry tickets.
Phongsavanh Group's Chairman of the Shareholders' Committee, Mr Somboun Phongsavanh, said the agreement will run for one year to see if it is successful and the bank will also enter into further agreements with other zoos in Thailand. The initiative is also a form of cooperation s part of AEC integration.
More Lao people are visiting the zoo these days, Mr Thanachon said. �They have good habits and are polite and it's easy for us to converse because of our similar languages,� he added.
�We are pleased to have this form of cooperation with businesspeople from Laos.�
If the plan goes well, �we will have further discussions with Thai officials and zoos in the hope of expanding the scheme to seven other zoos in Thailand,� Mr Thanachon said. �We may become good business partners in the future.�
The agreement was signed during a three-day visit by the Phongsavanh Group to Khon Kaen province last week, led by Group President Prof. Dr Od Phongsavanh.
The visit was aimed at securing more trade and investment with Thai businesses.
Representatives from the Phongsavanh Group met with Thai officials and businesspeople for talks on trade, services and investment cooperation.
The Group has grown remarkably since it diversified its operations into the timber industry, telecommunications, trading, construction, banking and finance, mining, oil and petroleum products, airlines, franchises, innovation, convenience stores, logistics and insurance.
To apply the Party's Three Builds directive, the Group also provides low interest loans to farmers, hoping to reduce their level of poverty.
The Group also has ties with Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Russia and Dubai, both in trade and investment.
It has representative offices in Vietnam, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar, which have helped Laos to become well known in the region and further afield.
vientiane times
