© RTUS - Team Hat Yai

Hat Yai is a district in Southern Thailand with multiculturalism which is shown in religions, architecture and identities. There are several influences of food here, for example, mainly Chinese and Muslilm Malayu in some areas. Hat Yai is a prominent hub of transportation in the South linking domestic travels and neighbouring countries like Malaysia. This makes Hat Yai grow as an important city in a short period of time. Hat Yai is also a hub of economy as well as the biggest medical hub in the region. There are many schools, universities and tutor institutions which are recognized on an international level. Moreover, there is beautiful nature such as a viewpoint landmark in a large public park on Kho Hong hill which has brought in substantial revenue in tourism. This park also serves as the lungs of Hat Yai. This city has a potential for developments in every aspect. It can be a destination for  meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions also known as MICE city.

RTUS Hat Yai
The City in Our Eyes

Hat Yai is a center of business, transportation, medical and the most well known educational institutions in Southern Thailand.

In our point of view, Hat Yai is a ‘city of opportunities’ compared to any cities in the South of Thailand in terms of education because of its famous schools and universities like Prince of Songkhla University, Hatyaiwittayalai School and big private schools. In terms of business, numerous restaurants, shops, companies, hotels, convention halls and big agricultural and financial corporations make this city a hub of the Southern Thailand economy. A multitude of hospitals and specialized medical centers like Prince of Songkhla Hospital, Hat Yai Hospital and renowned private hospitals make Hat Yai a medical hub in the region.

Because of its location, Hat Yai is also a hub of transportation to southernmost provinces and Malaysia with its railway junctions and international airports in the area.

With the resources and potential, Hat Yai has attracted a great number of people, however, it is not as crowded as other big cities with its fast-flowing traffic and big public park. People can easily escape the bustling city to rest there as well as the surrounding natural attractions such as Ton Nga Chang Waterfall, Samila beach and the Two lands mountain. There is a diversity in culture and ethnicity; Thai, Chinese, Malayu and Indian. They all have their own way of life. In the meantime, Hat Yai is keeping up with the trend which they do better than in some areas.

With everything mentioned here, we would like to give a word to capture Hat Yai in our eyes - “the capital of the south”.

• Make a documentary on Hat Yai to reflect perspective of the youths and offer policy suggestions
• Listen, communicate and tell stories about public spaces
• Create an case study area to reduce waste properly on household level
• Open a learning space about the city heritage for the engagement of people of all ages to develop the communities with sustainability
• Encourage Hat Yai people to take part  in designing public transportation system
• Make an exhibition of projects to publicize city development ideas from the youths