A tourism organization has taken on what some might call an impossible task. They want to reinvent Pattaya as a pleasant seaside city for families rather than the sin city most people think of it as.

The Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) wants to change how international tourists see the city and what, exactly, they imagine themselves doing there.

Instead of drinking, go-go bars and debauchery, DASTA wants to promote family entertainment such as scenic tours of nearby nature trails and visits to historic villages that are close to Walking Street in kilometers, but miles away from the infamous street in spirit.

DASTA hopes to promote Baan Chark Ngaew, a 100-year-old Chinese community, as a place where tourists can experience what life was like in a China a century ago. They also hope to interest visitors in Nong Prue, a village that shows an interesting intersection of Christian, Buddhist and Muslim influences. They are also pretty sure that they can lure tourists away from the beer bars with a trip to Khao Chee Jan, a place where they can check out 11 royal projects related to the late king’s sufficiency economy ideals, reported Bangkok Post.

DASTA representatives do believe that adjusting Pattaya’s reputation will be hard.

We think it will still be very, very hard for tourists to pretend the Walking Street is not something they need to check off their list.

However, to Thais living in Bangkok, the sin city has always been a family getaway spot due to its proximity to the big city and selection of hotels and restaurants. The beach town’s luxury and boutique hotels are largely filled with Thai guests, who actually come to Pattaya for the beach.

But for visitors who fly across the globe to Thailand, we cannot imagine why they would choose to bring their family to Pattaya when there are many more beautiful islands in the country.

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