Thailand’s Department of National Parks said the Tham Luang cave would be rehabilitated to repair the damage caused by the rescue operation, and then developed into a tourist destination.
Even before the rescue of the 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach has begun, the Tham Luang cave in which the group is trapped is being touted as a tourist destination.
Thailand’s Department of National Parks said the Tham Luang cave would be rehabilitated to repair the damage caused by the rescue operation, and then developed into a tourist destination.
Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-Cha, in a Facebook Live broadcast, said the cave was now famous the world over and would eventually “become a tourist spot”.
The Tham Luang cave network made headlines after the junior footballers aged between 11 and 16, along with their 25-year-old coach became trapped inside on June 23.
A former Thai Navy SEAL participating in the rescue effort at Tham Luang cave died on Thursday night (July 5) because of a lack of oxygen, according to Thai authorities.
On social media, talk of turning the cave into a tourist attraction was greeted with a fair amount of scorn.
On the ThaiVisa site, one person wrote, “Probably a good idea to get the boys out before the tourists arrive.”
Another was even more scathing. “How about keeping the boys inside indefinitely, like an attraction?”