FANS BRAVE CROCS TO ATTEND KHAO YAI FEST

       More than 50,000 visitors turned up in Khao Yai last weekend for the Honda Fund United Festival, one of the Campaigns to draw tourists back to the national park after crocodile sightings scared some away.
       "Hotel operators hope they will attract more visitors thanks to the festivals," Songkran Techanarong, manager of the Bonanza Khao Yai hotel, which was the concert venue, said yesterday.
       The concert was one of the events slated for Khao Yai by the Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT) in cooperation with hotels and other companies to woo tourists back.
       The concert was organised by the TAT and AP Honda.
       Songkran said the hotels in Khao Yai were fully occupied during the event.
       Auttaphol Wannakij, director of the TAT's Nakhon Ratchasima office, said Khao Yai was usually a popular place during the rainy and cool seasons, but that some tourists had postponed their plans since crocodiles were discovered.
       However, for all of this year, visitors to Khao Yai will grow 10 per cent from 1.95 million last year.
       "Many tourists now want to see the crocs for the experience," he said. "Concerts hosted near the park will also help promote domestic tourism."
       Jutamart Inpringkanant, manager of sales promotion for AP Honda, said the event was part of the TAT's "Isaan Tourism Year" campaign.