N-ACT Hosts Educational Events

“It’s important for those in our tourism network to meet regularly to exchange ideas, support one another, and share information,” believes Nattaya “Nat” Sektheera of North Andaman Community Tourism (N-ACT). Her conviction was the driving force behind two very busy months organizing a guide training, study trip, and network meeting with members from nine communities.

With three days of expert facilitation from the Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-i), village guides were trained in showcasing village attractions and practicing the “safety, meaning, and service” (SMS) philosophy. The guides strengthened their knowledge through role play activities.

To improve their administrative, hospitality, and financial management skills, villagers traveled to the Koh Lon Homestay in Phuket for a study tour. The study tour participants engaged in hands-on activities such as reforestation and inspecting and learning about the operation of a local dam. “We’ve been able to use ideas from the Koh Lon study trip and implement positive changes to the appearance of our homestay guest areas,” said Manee Kong Gim.

Finally, a network meeting provided a chance to tie everything together by communicating recent news and encourage each other’s activities. N-ACT staff informed the group about recent FAM trips, lessons learned from the study trip, and the outcomes of the recent Homestay Standards meeting in Bangkok.

Labels: community development, community-based tourism, study tours