Bangkok, Thailand — Relentlessly striving to expand its reach to every corner of the globe, global search engine behemoth Google following the opening of its first ever office in Thailand, and in association with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced plans to launch a new tourism promotion initiative featuring its famous Google Maps with Street View and plans to invite Thais to nominate their favorite tourist destinations to be captured in images as Google Maps with Street View cars begin driving across the country.
Google’s Street View is a popular component of Google Maps, which provides panoramic views at street level, is currently available in more than 30 countries around the world, including several countries in Asia such as Singapore. Plans are also underway to introduce the service in other countries.
It empowers users to virtually explore and navigate a neighborhood through panoramic street-level images. In countries where Street View is available, users can access street-level imagery by zooming deeply into the lowest level on Google Maps, or by dragging the orange “Pegman” icon on the left-hand side of the map onto a blue highlighted street.
In a recent op-ed distributed to media, Google’s newly named Country Manager, Ariya Panomyong, disclosed that proportionally “no other country in the world sends as many visitors to Google Maps as Thailand does”, making the decision to introduce Street View a logical one.
Beginning today, TAT said a fleet of cars mounted with special cameras will begin riding and taking street level photographs of public locations across the country including greater Bangkok and other major regional cities around the country after which the images will soon be added to Google Street View. The agency estimated it could take two to three years to cover most parts of Thailand.
“Google is excited for the magnificent pictures which are waiting to be unmasked from the country,” Google wrote on its Thai blog, adding that some tourist attractions in Thailand will also be mapped on Street View. This was previously also done for the Colosseum in Rome and tourist attractions such as Sea Life in England.
TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni welcomed Google’s decision to add Thailand to its service and outlined the philosophy behind the partnership: “I believe the Internet is a powerful platform which can help boost Thailand’s tourism as well as the success of Google Maps with Street View in the long run,” Svetasreni said.
He further explained that the service can raise awareness and boost travel to and around Thailand and with Google cars ready to start capturing Thailand’s most visit-worthy places amongst tourists, both domestically and overseas, as we envision long term output of Street View as a real opportunity for Thailand to showcase its tourist destinations and unique culture to the world while strengthening our economy.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has always adopted technology and through this partnership we hope to engage more people in sustainable tourism for a better tomorrow. Besides, the company has invited Thais to come forward and propose their favorite parts of the country which should be included in Street View.
A number of people in Thailand have already reported seeing the Google cars. “I think I saw one of these vehicles driving around Phuket within the past month,” user ozymandious wrote on Thaivisa.com. “It was a large Toyota van of sorts with cameras mounted everywhere. I saw it around the airport at the time.”
Although Street View unquestionably remains a popular feature with many internet users, it remains to be seen exactly how much visibility it can provide. Like many Southeast Asian destinations popular with tourists, Thailand and its hot-spots are served by a huge number of travel guides – both on and offline – with a growing number of blogs and websites showcasing other, less known places.
Neighboring Singapore has long been enjoying Street View since 2009 and with Google now actively spreading its wings in the region, it seems only a matter of time before other countries will be supported too.
Nevertheless, Google’s Street View has repeatedly raised privacy issues when the service was added in new countries, but Google said it is committed to protect privacy and comply with all local laws. Google will blur faces of people and license plates to avoid identification, and people will be able to submit complaints if they believe photos are violating people’s privacy or violating the law.
UPDATE: According to TheNextWeb.com reports that Aman Firdaus notes, Malaysia is set to get Street View for the first time too and Google is conducting a poll to decide which landmarks the Street View trike should capture as part of the rollout.
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