The Tourism and Hospitality Management (THM) Division of Mahidol University International College (MUIC), in collaboration with the Samut Sakhon City Development and Tourism Authority of Thailand – Samut Songkhram Office, organized the “Sustainable Community-Based Tourism Development Field Trip” on June 16-17, 2018 at Baan Tha Cha Lom, Samut Sakhon Province.
Around 30 THM students spent two days and one night with the local stakeholders of Baan Tha Cha Lom to learn about their ways of life and sustainable practices. The students also learned about, shared and discussed ideas with the communities about how tourism development could be done in a sustainable way. During the field trip, the THM students visited local tourist attractions, participated in local workshops, enjoyed the homestay experience and learned how the Baan Tha Cha Lom community is planning to develop the homestay as a new tourism product that uses the responsible tourism business concept.
In addition, the students also joined the local community to refurbish Bamleam Railway Station, one of the key tourist attractions of the province. From this trip, the students not only gained valuable lessons about tourism destination development and responsible tourism business, but also gained a better understanding of the tourism codes of conduct and learned how to be a better responsible tourist.
