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THE Pokémon GO frenzy in southeast Asia has seen restaurants and hotels cash in by offering lures for players to catch Pokémon characters.
But Thailand took it too new heights with the launch of Pokémon GO tours in the island of Phuket designed specifically for tourists to hunt for digital pocket monsters.
The tours – by car or van – take Pokémon hunters around Phuket where prized characters have been discovered at Khao Rang in Phuket Town, Wat Chalong, Thalang Rd in Phuket Old Town, Karon Viewpoint, Promthep Cape and Saphan Hin.
Yongyuth Chankul, managing director at Phuket Tour Holiday Co, said, “Many people are delighted that we came up with the idea to help them hunt for Pokémon at Phuket landmarks. We normally offer daily tours to these tourist attractions, so all we had to do was add Pokémon hunting to our package.”
He added, “Now people can play safely because we provide drivers who know these roads well. Many people have called in and asked about the package since we launched them, but demand is already high and people are urged to book in advance.”
Japan plans to use the game to boost tourism. Pic: AP
On top of that, Thailand’s permanent secretary for tourism and sports Phongphanu Sawetrun announced last week that his ministry has already engaged in talks with the copyright owner of Pokémon GO in Thailand about adding characters in some of the country’s most important tourist sites.
In the case of Japan, #Poketourism is used effectively to revive forgotten tourist sites. For example, the country plans to use the game to boost tourism and reconstruction efforts in quake-affected areas such as Miyagi, Fukushima, and Kumamoto.
But the launch of the game in Asia has not come without its slew of complaints and warnings. In Thailand, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has laid down nationwide restricted zones including temples, the Royal Palace, and dangerous areas like railways and waterways.
In Japan, National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity put out a nine-point bulletin warning people of possible problems surrounding the game.
Some of these “problems” include players’ privacy being invaded if using their real names and photos of their homes, not packing back-up battery in the case of an emergency, the possibility of a heatstroke during hot weather, and the risks of wandering about in dangerous areas.
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Source: travelwireasia.com