The mercury on Doi Inthanon fell to 9C this morning, the first single-digit reading of the year, and people turned up to enjoy it. Visitors crowded the summit in Chom Thong district and the Kew Mae Pan viewpoint for sunrise, which is how you know cool season has properly started.
It wasn’t just Inthanon. Doi Ang Khang and Doi Pha Hom Pok in Fang both dipped to 17C, which is less dramatic but still enough for a jacket.
Itthirat Sinarak, the provincial tourism and sports chief, laid out how Chiang Mai plans to handle the high season. The target is at least 120 billion baht in revenue and around 12.5 million visitors, Thai and foreign, with the province working with every agency it can pull in. He sorted the plan into four measures: infrastructure and getting around, safety and service quality, environmental management, and marketing through campaigns and international festivals.
On the getting-around side, traffic command centres will be set up for the busiest spots, namely Nimmanhaemin, the old city, Suthep and Doi Inthanon National Park. Public transport and electric buses will be added with the Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organisation and private operators, the idea being fewer cars and less standing in traffic.
On safety, Tourist Assistance Centres (TAC) will go in at the airport, the railway station and Tha Phae Gate. CCTV systems will be linked up, and police and local administration officials will step up patrols.
