PHOTO: Elephant training centers are popular attractions for visitors to Chiang Mai. (photo by James Ruggia)

Chiang Mai, the so-called Rose of the North and former capital of the Lanna Kingdom, has emerged as something of a capital for northern Thailand and is carving out a niche that gives its tourism more independence from Bangkok, the kind that Phuket has so successfully created with its healthy network of direct flights.

At times of strife in Bangkok, Phuket actually sees its numbers climb as tourist by-pass Bangkok altogether. Chiang Mai is also beginning to carve out that sort of independence.

Located almost midway between Bangkok and Mandalay, as Burma continues to open, the more traffic will flow through Chiang Mai on its way to Myanmar.

As with most emerging destinations in Asia, low cost carriers are playing a major role as catalysts. AirAsia’s new daily direct Chiang Mai-Hong Kong joins Dragonair and Hong Kong Express in facilitating major connections with China. AirAsia will follow with a Chiang Mai-Hangzhou flight on Feb. 21.

On Dec. 10 Air China launched twice a week Wuhan-Chiang Mai service and three times a week service from Beijing on Nov.7. Chinese demand will propel development in Chiang Mai, which is also connected to such Chinese cities as Chengdu, Kunming, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing, as well as Macau by several airlines.

With about 300,000 people, Chiang Mai is still more easy going than Bangkok with its 8 million people. Chiang Mai has distinct cultural essence that is as different from Bangkok as the Lanna Kingdom whose capital was the city, is from Siam southern Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). In other words the roots of these distinctions are deep and historic. Though the Thais (Siamese) took Chiang Mai from the Burmese in 1774, once again Myanmar, is exerting a powerful influence on the city.

Chiang Mai increasingly finds itself as the midway component of Thailand and Myanmar packages, just as the English city of York is often used as the midway stopover between London and Edinburgh. Wilsoot Buachoom, the director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Chiang Mai office, sees a new role for the city when Myanmar fully opens.

“Certainly it will benefit Chiang Mai economically,” he said, “and it’s TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) policy to work cooperatively with neighboring countries. Thailand’s visitors are 60 percent repeaters so the emergence of our neighbors in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar helps us to keep a fresh product for repeaters.”

The Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association is aggressively planning new tourism routes to connect Northern Thailand with Laos, China and Myanmar. The proposed routes will connect eight northern Thai provinces with Northern Laos, Southern China and Myanmar.

Follow me on Twitter @JRuggia1.