The ‘Passport to Thailand’s National Parks’, which travellers can get stamped to show which national parks they have already visited, is now out of stock after South Korean YouTubers, ‘Cullen Hateberry’, recently introduced it on their channel.
Atthaphon Charoenchansa, director-general of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said the initial 90,000 “passports” have sold out and the department has ordered more, which are expected to be available at national parks around the country in the middle of this month.
The price of each passport is Bt100, he said, adding that he was told that they were being sold via an online shopping platform for about Bt250-300 each.
The department is considering giving rewards to those who visit all the national parks within 2 years. “Maybe we will give them a free pass to the national parks,” he said.
The department has invited the YouTubers to work with them to promote tourism in Thailand’s parks. The number of followers of the Cullen Hateberry channel has increased rapidly, reaching over 1.22 million, mainly due to their visits filmed to various fascinating locations and their generally attractive appearance. What has drawn some viewers is seeing them conduct the stream in Thai, with their struggle to speak and understand the language, which amuses many people.
The main YouTubers are 33-year-old “Cullen”, also known as “Park Kideuk”, who describes himself as a producer of electronic dance music and a model. He has prior experience as a disc jockey at a Korean restaurant in Thailand.
Another key member is “Brother Jung”, 34, who came to Thailand to work and learned the Thai language. The youngest member is “Nong Dan”, aged 25, a marketing student at Assumption University in Thailand.
