News

Tourism officials in Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai have set up a housing bureau in a bid to clamp down on sub-standard tourist accommodation.

With the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek Expo 2006 fast approaching, the city is expecting an influx of foreign and internal tourists, reports the Bangkok Post.

However, concerns have been raised that not all of the accommodation in the region is up to scratch and there is no governing body responsible.

In order to tackle the problem, the Chiang Mai Housing Bureau has been established to help tourists find suitable accommodation during the event.

Twidej Jaisuk, director of the bureau, has revealed that 2,000 rooms are available for visitors, while neighbouring provinces have been contacted and asked to prepare 30,000 additional rooms.

Mr Jaisuk has admitted that some of the lodgings will only be adequate for visitors 'if they are not selective'.

'The issue here is not about whether we will have enough rooms for visitors, but whether we can properly match them together,' he added.

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