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Thailand
In 2007 the Travel Foundation began funding a new project in Thailand with the Thailand Community based Tourism Institute (CBT-I).
Community Based Tourism
CBT is a unique type of village tourism which is managed and operated by local community groups. The CBT-I team have supported these groups for over 10 years, assisting community members to develop active, authentic, ethical tour programs which are fun for tourists while supporting community development and conservation work.
CBT groups develop tour programs based around special elements of local
 life that community members feel proud of and choose to share with guests. Guests have an opportunity to experience and learn about the community and environment through fun, hands-on activities including jungle trekking, traditional fishing, natural dying, and learning to cook local dishes. Activities are lead by trained community guides. CBT SPRING is the “Springboard Project for Responsible International, National and Ground Partnerships”. The idea of the project is to link selected Thai Community based Tourism projects with responsible tour operators in the Tour operators benefit  Tour operators promote rural destinations through images of peace and rusticity. However, as more tourists arrive, destinations become more developed and less pristine, and tourists become less satisfied. Tour operators are forced to search for new destinations for their guests. CBT-I believe that a sustainable balance between supply and demand can be achieved. Their network of CBT projects offers a unique opportunity to spread tourist volume among sites with similar attractions: providing economic, social and environmental benefits for CBT communities; limiting the impacts of tourism and giving tourists and tour operators what they are searching for: enjoyable, authentic, ethical, rural travel experiences. The community and environment benefit  One of the main objectives of the CBT-I project is to create a tourist volume control mechanism. Working with Tour Operators and the Thai Government, it is working to ensure that tourism does not destroy these few select communities and helps to bring the benefits of sustainable tourism to other communities which have not had the opportunity to access tourism in the past. This is turn will help tourists to gain the intimate and authentic experience they are looking for with the local communities.
By working with communities who are not presently receiving tourists, it is necessary however to prepare the villages for tourism. This is done through training and capacity building, as well as awareness raising of tourist and operator expectations and needs. Training for such communities is therefore critical for the success of the project. Training workshops are a major component of the project as well as offering help for communities to identify what activities are unique to their region and might provide good attractions to visitors.
The Communities involved
The project is working with Thai communities who are new to tourism, helping to establish links with UK Operators and providing funds to support training workshops with the communities. The idea is that by training more communities in sustainable tourism there will be more choice for operators and therefore the benefits of tourism will be spread equally among rural villages minimising the impact tourism has on the environment and the local culture and helping more local people benefit from visitors presence.
 The ten pilot CBT communities include seven sites that are close to major UK holiday destinations (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Bangkok, Koh Samui and Phuket), and three sites that are located in areas which would make excellent new destinations.A minimum of 300 families will benefit economically and socially from the tours. Within 2-3 years, income from tours could represent a 10%+ increase in the average income of participating families, including cash-poor hill tribe communities.
10% of income from CBT goes into Community based Tourism Community Funds which support a range of local community and environmental projects to coordinate smoothly. Who is already involved in the CBT SPRING Partnerships Project? Several
The project already has the commitment of various The project was kicked off in the
The next step...
The Tourism Authority of Thailand, based in the UK (TAT) are sponsoring 9 UK to Thailand return flights in April 2008 for committed UK tour operators to attend the CBT-I workshops out in the participating Thai communities. FACTS
Within the 10 communities:
23,694: Combined population.
7,110: Number of houses.
803: Members of the CBT group.
50: Number of local drivers
32: Number of local shops
13: Number of occupational groups 10: Number of local schools
Please email Peter Richards (CBT Marketing Support and Development Coordinator) for further details.
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T: 0117 9273049 • Registered Charity no: 1065924