[ArraryTauTDew]

The government and major tourism organisations agreed on reforms for the industry to generate 2 trillion baht in revenue by 2015.

Representatives from five tourism organisations and related government agencies met at a workshop yesterday to hammer out a deal. They will meet again in two months to monitor progress.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has agreed to be the presenter for the country's new tourism campaigns.

A report of the Federation of Thai Tourism Associations (Fetta) highlights the declining competitiveness of Thai tourism while other countries including China, Indonesia, Vietnam and some in the Middle East are working to improve their quality.

A World Economic Forum report last year ranked Thailand 41st for tourism competitiveness in Asia Pacific, while Singapore was 32nd, Malaysia 35th and China 39th.

The problems facing Thailand include deterioration of tourism sites and a lack of new products and attractions. Tourism facilities are far below global standards.

Fetta spokesman Charoen Wangananont said tourism revenue could reach 2 trillion baht in 2015 if the state and the private sector implement their plans.

Of this amount, 1.45 trillion baht would come from foreign tourists and the rest from domestic travellers.

Last year's tourism revenue hit 1.13 trillion baht _ 730 billion from foreign tourists and 400 billion from locals.

In a related development, the Immigration Bureau will introduce an automatic passport-checking channel for Thais by April 11 to solve the long queues and chaos at Suvarnabhumi airport.

The government has agreed to end a requirement for Thai and other Asean nationals to fill out arrival and departure documents.

Other Asean countries have already cancelled these documents.

A federal budget for a project to improve the skills and add licensing of local guides was also approved.

Fetta also proposed the government try to persuade Disney to build a theme park in Thailand due to all the tourists it would draw.