Community Based Tourism (CBT) and the role of small local businesses in Thailand's tourism industry
By Jon Fernquest
Small
family
businesses
seem to be much more common in Thailand's tourism industry than they
are in other countries. Recently, I had the chance to wander around downtown Cebu (the second largest city in the Philippines) looking for a place to stay for a few days.
I only found one place that resembled the typical Thai "guesthouse" that offers cheap rooms and food.
Small family-run guesthouses, restaurants and bars are common in even the most remote corners of Thailand, catering to the needs of both foreign and Thai tourists staying in Thailand for a couple of weeks (or even months and years).
It is then perhaps fitting that Thai NGOs are at the forefront of extending and developing this idea through the idea of community-based tourism (CBT).
The Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I) is a Thai NGO working hard to promote this idea.
Today's article is an extract from a recent article by Bangkok Post columnist Imtiaz Muqbil reporting on a recent Community Based Tourism conference.
Photo on right of guesthouse on Maesai river in Chiang Rai located next to the border with Burma. During Songkran festivities (Thai New Years or Water Festival) this stretch of river is teeming with people gathering sand to build a sand pagoda at the nearby monastery. Don't travel upriver on a rubber intertube though or you will get bit by mosquitoes and come down with malaria like I did several years ago.
family businesses -
a business largely owned and operated by the members of one family (See
Wikipedia)
remote corners of X - places far away from the center, from the place where most people live
catering to the needs of Y - giving the group of people Y what they need
fitting - what fits or is the right thing to do in a certain situation
at the forefront of Z - among the most advanced people or organizations doing activity Z
Community-Based Tourism (CBT) - tourism in local areas, managed by the local people themselves, for the benefit of the local people rather than large corporations located far away (See manual and Wikipedia)
Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I) - a Thai NGO devoted to promoting community-based tourism in Thailand (See website)
Songkran - "celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia" (See Wikipedia)
festivities - a large and happy event, a celebration
teeming - containing a large number of things (people, animals, objects) all moving around
come down with - get sick with some disease
remote corners of X - places far away from the center, from the place where most people live
catering to the needs of Y - giving the group of people Y what they need
fitting - what fits or is the right thing to do in a certain situation
at the forefront of Z - among the most advanced people or organizations doing activity Z
Community-Based Tourism (CBT) - tourism in local areas, managed by the local people themselves, for the benefit of the local people rather than large corporations located far away (See manual and Wikipedia)
Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I) - a Thai NGO devoted to promoting community-based tourism in Thailand (See website)
Songkran - "celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia" (See Wikipedia)
festivities - a large and happy event, a celebration
teeming - containing a large number of things (people, animals, objects) all moving around
come down with - get sick with some disease
Tourism
Community tourism's new face
23/08/2010Imtiaz Muqbil
About 120 delegates involved in community-based tourism (CBT) projects in Thailand and Asia met last week in Bangkok to swap best practices to help them uphold the fundamental objectives of their grassroots ventures and prevent them from becoming victims of their own growing popularity.
About 80 villages nationwide participating in CBT attended the meeting at which they sought to learn from each other how to attract more visitors without damaging the environment or causing other social or cultural problems that would eventually make the exercise self-defeating.
community
- the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
Community-Based Tourism (CBT) - tourism in local areas, managed by the local people themselves, for the benefit of the local people rather than large corporations located far away (See manual and Wikipedia)
swap - giving something to another person who, in turn, gives you something, exchange
practices - ways of doing commonly repeated tasks
best practices - the best ways of doing commonly repeated tasks
uphold - to show that you support something such as an idea by what you say or do สนับสนุน รับรอง พิทักษ์รักษา ยืนหนัด
fundamental - very important and essential พื้นฐาน รากฐานที่สำคัญ
objectives - goals; aims; things that you plan to achieve จุดมุ่งหมาย
grassroots - involving the ordinary people rather than their leaders ในระดับรากหญ้า, ชาวบ้าน
venture - a new business or activity
victims - people who are killed injured or harmed in some way from an accident, natural disaster, crime, etc.
victims of their own growing popularity - people who become popular but fail to use to benefit from the opportunity
nationwide - including the whole country ทั่วประเทศ
meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
attract - to cause someone to be interested in something ดึงดูดความสนใจ
environment - the natural world of land, sea, plants, and animals
eventually - at the end of a period of time or at the end of a process ในที่สุด
exercise - activity with a result or purpose behind it
self-defeating - in trying to solve a problem, creating more problems (which means you can't solve the original problem)
Community-Based Tourism (CBT) - tourism in local areas, managed by the local people themselves, for the benefit of the local people rather than large corporations located far away (See manual and Wikipedia)
swap - giving something to another person who, in turn, gives you something, exchange
practices - ways of doing commonly repeated tasks
best practices - the best ways of doing commonly repeated tasks
uphold - to show that you support something such as an idea by what you say or do สนับสนุน รับรอง พิทักษ์รักษา ยืนหนัด
fundamental - very important and essential พื้นฐาน รากฐานที่สำคัญ
objectives - goals; aims; things that you plan to achieve จุดมุ่งหมาย
grassroots - involving the ordinary people rather than their leaders ในระดับรากหญ้า, ชาวบ้าน
venture - a new business or activity
victims - people who are killed injured or harmed in some way from an accident, natural disaster, crime, etc.
victims of their own growing popularity - people who become popular but fail to use to benefit from the opportunity
nationwide - including the whole country ทั่วประเทศ
meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
attract - to cause someone to be interested in something ดึงดูดความสนใจ
environment - the natural world of land, sea, plants, and animals
eventually - at the end of a period of time or at the end of a process ในที่สุด
exercise - activity with a result or purpose behind it
self-defeating - in trying to solve a problem, creating more problems (which means you can't solve the original problem)
Organised by the Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I), located in Chiang Mai, the meeting was supported by the Thailand Research Fund in an effort to show how far CBT is contributing toward sustainable development. The European Union has also funded the CBT promotion effort at various stages.
Although Thai villages have been catering to brief stops by visitors for more than 15 years, some have gone a step further by expanding into home-stays and other opportunities for small numbers of tourists to stay overnight, and also join local people in some daily activities.
Community Based Tourism Institute
(CBT-I) - a Thai NGO devoted to promoting community-based
tourism in Thailand (See website)
Thailand Research Fund (TRF) - an organization promoting research in Thailand (See website)
effort - an attempt to do something ความพยายาม
sustainable - able to be successfully continued for a long time ยั่งยืน, ถาวร
development - the gradual growth and formation of a country's economy
funded - given money to บริจาค
funded - money provided for operation of a business or organisation ให้ความช่วยเหลือทางการเงิน ให้เงินลงทุน
promotion - giving an employee a higher position or job than they already have
effort - activities of people working together to achieve a goal
stage - one point in time during a process or series of events
catering - the job or organising the food and drinks for an event such as a party or meeting การจัดเลี้ยง (See Wikipedia)
gone a step further - did something new (that went beyond the original idea)
home-stay - a form of tourism that allows the visitor to rent a room from a local family to better learn the local lifestyle as well as improve their language ability (See Wikipedia)
opportunities - situations in which it is possible to do what you want or need to do
local - in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
Thailand Research Fund (TRF) - an organization promoting research in Thailand (See website)
effort - an attempt to do something ความพยายาม
sustainable - able to be successfully continued for a long time ยั่งยืน, ถาวร
development - the gradual growth and formation of a country's economy
funded - given money to บริจาค
funded - money provided for operation of a business or organisation ให้ความช่วยเหลือทางการเงิน ให้เงินลงทุน
promotion - giving an employee a higher position or job than they already have
effort - activities of people working together to achieve a goal
stage - one point in time during a process or series of events
catering - the job or organising the food and drinks for an event such as a party or meeting การจัดเลี้ยง (See Wikipedia)
gone a step further - did something new (that went beyond the original idea)
home-stay - a form of tourism that allows the visitor to rent a room from a local family to better learn the local lifestyle as well as improve their language ability (See Wikipedia)
opportunities - situations in which it is possible to do what you want or need to do
local - in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
This has tapped into the growing demand by well-travelled visitors worldwide for a "learning experience" from their trips. Proponents say it is in line with national poverty-alleviation goals and gives villagers a reason to uphold their cultures. It also distributes income to the rural areas and helps residents preserve the local environment.
While no definitive numbers are available on total visitors to all the CBT projects nationwide, a study presented by Prof Pariwat Somnuek of Ubon Ratchathani University showed that the village of Baan Phu received 5,850 Thai and 23 foreign visitors in 2008, generating total income of 1.85 million baht. In 2009, the figures fell to 5,133 Thai and 20 foreign visitors, generating 1.56 million baht.
tapped
- used
demand - people or consumers wanting to buy goods and services ความต้องการ
learning experience - when you learn things during some activity
proponent - a public supporter of an idea, policy or plan
in line with - following, agreeing with
poverty - the condition of being extremely poor ความจน
alleviation - reducing the suffering and negative effects of something bad
national poverty alleviation - making poverty in a country less severe, reducing the negative effects
uphold - to support and help something by what you say and do
uphold their cultures - to support and help a culture to grow strong and survive by what you say and do
reason - an explanation of an event, why an event happened เหตุ ; เหตุผล ; สาเหตุ
income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
rural - connected with the countryside outside big towns and cities ในชนบท, บ้านนอก
residents - people who live in a particular place or area ชาวบ้านในบริเวณ ผู้อาศัยในบริเวณ ราษฎรในบริเวณนั้น
preserve - to keep something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from being damaged or destroyed ทำให้คงอยู่, สงวน อนุรักษ์
definitive - better than all the others
figures - statistics, numbers describing the economy
demand - people or consumers wanting to buy goods and services ความต้องการ
learning experience - when you learn things during some activity
proponent - a public supporter of an idea, policy or plan
in line with - following, agreeing with
poverty - the condition of being extremely poor ความจน
alleviation - reducing the suffering and negative effects of something bad
national poverty alleviation - making poverty in a country less severe, reducing the negative effects
uphold - to support and help something by what you say and do
uphold their cultures - to support and help a culture to grow strong and survive by what you say and do
reason - an explanation of an event, why an event happened เหตุ ; เหตุผล ; สาเหตุ
income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
rural - connected with the countryside outside big towns and cities ในชนบท, บ้านนอก
residents - people who live in a particular place or area ชาวบ้านในบริเวณ ผู้อาศัยในบริเวณ ราษฎรในบริเวณนั้น
preserve - to keep something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from being damaged or destroyed ทำให้คงอยู่, สงวน อนุรักษ์
definitive - better than all the others
figures - statistics, numbers describing the economy
German consultant Nicole Hausler, who specialises in responsible tourism issues, notes that two other issues are the income distribution within the CBT villages themselves as well as "organisation culture versus community culture."
She cited the results of a 2005 study by the Social Research Institute of Chiang Mai University of Plai Pong Pang Village in Samut Songkhram, which showed that the manager of the village's tourism management centre was the son of the project chairman.
The study found that four owners of the Thai traditional houses were all related. Income distribution was unequal with a small number of participating members getting the bigger share. The richest household got 76% of the total income. More than 80% of the villagers did not participate in the tourism project and did not benefit from it," she quoted the study as saying.
Imtiaz Muqbil is executive editor of Travel Impact Newswire, an e-mailed feature and analysis service focusing on the Asia-Pacific travel industry.
issues
- an important subect that people are discussing and debating
about ประเด็น
income distribution - the way that money (wealth, income) is spread throughout a society
cited - mentioned (to support a point you are making or arguing) กล่าวถึง
results - what is produced in the end by an activity or task
Social Research Institute (SRI) - an institute devoted to research at Chiang Mai University
traditional - things (clothes, music, customs, etc.) that have been part of a country or society for a long time
share - the smaller part received by one person when some big thing is divided up
household - a group of people, often a family, who live together ครัวเรือน
participate - to take part in or become involved in an activity มีส่วน
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
income distribution - the way that money (wealth, income) is spread throughout a society
cited - mentioned (to support a point you are making or arguing) กล่าวถึง
results - what is produced in the end by an activity or task
Social Research Institute (SRI) - an institute devoted to research at Chiang Mai University
traditional - things (clothes, music, customs, etc.) that have been part of a country or society for a long time
share - the smaller part received by one person when some big thing is divided up
household - a group of people, often a family, who live together ครัวเรือน
participate - to take part in or become involved in an activity มีส่วน
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
(Source: Bangkok Post, Community tourism's new face, 23/08/2010, Imtiaz Muqbil, link)
