Custom Search

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Home Stay in Thailand

Home stay is one type of community-based tourism for visitors that prefer to live with the local family in their home to learn and build understand about the community and local ways of life and also raise awareness of natural and diverse cultures from the host family.

Home stay is now playing a growing role in tourism, especially among travellers with a deeper interest in local ecology and the lifestyle of the people. Living with a local family in their home, they learn to understand the community and its way of life. So, home stay is not just a matter of accommodation and food, but also a valuable sharing experience contributing to mutual respect.

Thailand has emerged as the most popular destination for home stay tourism in this part of the world as it is one of the countries that is most affordable and hospitable. For most of the year the weather is fine; the regions of the country manifest a diversity of attractive destinations, colourful local customs, and a fascinating culture.

The government sees home stay tourism as a means of helping rural communities to become self-sufficient. It is encouraging the people of those provinces that are ready to welcome tourists to work with local administrative bodies to develop model villages providing home stay services.

A model village would be noted for its natural surroundings, the quality of its local crafts and traditions and its hospitality. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover regional Thai culture in an authentic and inexpensive way. They will see the community's relationship with the natural world around them, and work they do. Central to this will be visiting the artists and craft workers who make One Tambon One Product (OTOP) goods.

High quality OTOP products will be the initial focus of the model villages for home stay tourism. They will be developed systematically with the goal of improving the community's income and standard of living, while at the same time adding a valuable new dimension to sustainable tourism in Thailand.

The first stage of the government's plan is to select 60 of the 76,000 villages nationwide with the potential to attract visitors to rural areas. Each province will select three of its premium OTOP products in villages that have the necessary qualities to attract tourists. The people must also be able to provide other attractions in and around their villages.

The government is also encouraging longer home stay tourism so that overseas visitors might stay longer in Thailand, and local communities joined the "long Stay-Home Stay" project launched in December, 2005.

The project was jointly carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Ministry of Interior in response to demand from tourists, and especially foreign visitors who wanted to prolong their stay in Thailand.

Research shoved that many visitors preferred the idea of staying in a home. They appreciated the warmth of feeling, the social contact, and the pleasure of discovering a rural way of life different to their own. This encouraging response suggests that home stay in Thailand will prove a valuable addition to the spectrum of tourism in Thailand.

OTOP : ONE Tambon One Product of Thailand

OTOP stands for "One Tambon One Product", a Thai government initiative launched in 2001 to promote the sale of unique hand-made products from village communities (tambon) as a means of improving incomes at the grassroots level.

OTOP aims to build the income derived from traditional art and craft work in rural communities, and to increase community sustainability by developing local talent and placing it in a global context.

The government adopted the "One Village, One Product" concept pioneered by governor Hiramatsu of the Japanese Prefecture of Oita, by which he helped to build up smallsized enterprises within communities. The Thai programme sought to draw on the local knowledge and ingenuity of Thai villages in all the regions of Thailand.

The OTOP programme encouraged people to make traditional local products using their home-grown skills and expertise. The government provided technical assistance and advice to enable them to produce their goods more efficiently and improve their quality. It then helped them with the marketing of their goods throughout the country and beyond its borders.

An OTOP logo has been developed as a symbol of excellence to be awarded to those hand-crafted items that reach the high standards set by the OTOP National Committee and have export potential.

OTOP products are traditional items made in village communities, each crafted in the inimitable style of their locality. They are hand made from local materials using inherited designs and techniques. They might be household items for decorative or practical use, furniture, textiles, clothing, fashion accessories, toys, or any article that is a traditional product of a particular community.

Different regions are noted for specific types of products. Silverware and special paper products, for example, are specialities of the North of Thailand, as are ceramics, bamboo baskets, cotton fabrics, silver jewellery and tea.

The Northeast is famous for its silks and cottons, especially tie-dyed mudmee designs and lai khid and phrae wa silks. Dan Kwian is known for its pottery, triangular pillows and baskets woven from water hyacinth.

Pottery and ceramics are important products of the Central Region, too, notably the exquisite Benjarong and the distinctive Ko Kret earthenware and terra cotta pottery.

The East is well known for fresh and preserved fruit as well as bamboo and rattan baskets and reed mats, while natural tie-dyed and batik fabrics are a speciality of the South, with woven liphao baskets, mother-of-pearl inlays and carved wood.

All products are selected for promotion for their overall quality and their potential for export.

The OTOP programme has firm government support at several levels, from identifying potential products, advising on design, production, quality control, and packaging to attract buyers for the domestic and export markets.

The entire OTOP product cycle comes under the supervision of a National OTOP Committee, with regional and provincial level committees to assist in identifying, developing and grading OTOP products.

Traditionally, craft workers made products for their own use or to be exchanged with or sold to their neighbours. They made these items when the daily work of farming or household chores were finished, and with this limited part-time work, production capacity and supplying in volume were not an issue.

With the introduction of OTOP, though, village communities face the realities of trading beyond borders. They must meet deadlines, standards of quality control, production capacity, design preferences and marketing challenges. Not all OTOP products are of export quality, but there are now government agencies providing support in these areas.

Their local products constitute a form of natural and environmental conservation, and a valuable exchange of local wisdom. To the consumer, each hand-made object has a specific local identity that speaks for itself. It is unique, or if not unique, then a limited edition of an artifact, a garment or an item of jewellery that does not exist elsewhere and cannot mass-produced.

It may be a sentimental memento of a certain time and place in Thailand; it may even be "a thing of beauty and a joy forever", but however humble or however aesthetically exciting it may be, an OTOP product will be a personal link between a part of Thailand and a traveller who has seen, enjoyed and responded to it.

OTOP Tourism Villages Project

OTOP, the government's One Tambon One Product scheme, has been successful in focussing attention on the craft traditions of the regions of Thailand that continue to live through the work of today's village artists and craftsworkers.

There is a ready market for their creative work, and also a growing interest in the villages where it is produced, and this has led the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to build on the success of OTOP and to extend its range. It has launched a pilot project to develop the potential of OTOP villages in each region of Thailand as tourism destinations. The name of the project is "OTOP Tourism Villages."

These villages are already noted for their hand-made products sold under the OTOP flag which have won the admiration of local people and also visitors from overseas. They also possess resources that will make them feasible tourist destinations on their own: a viable homegrown industry, native art and culture and places of interest.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports support the village communities with necessary training programmes and workshops related to tourism development and promotion. These will include utilising information technology in the administration and management of tourism, assisting tourism development and promotion.

When village communities are encouraged to take part in the planning and running tourism-related activities and experiencing cultural exchanges with visitors, they will develop a sense of communal pride and become more self-sufficient.


The Ministry of Tourism and Sports also work with other government ministries as well as local administrative organisations, and private and community groups to ensure that the development of OTOP villages into OTOP Tourism Villages is directed towards sustainable tourism in the long run.

Rather than simply making a shopping stop to buy 5-star OTOP products, visitors to the OTOP Tourism Village will be able to add value to their holiday with home stay accommodation at the village. Every OTOP Tourism Village has an interesting atmosphere with its own stories to tell, as well as the fascinating processes of designing and making their art and craft products.

Since January 2004, eight OTOP Tourism Villages have been established as tourist attractions by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports with the Office of Tourism Development and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

They are Ban Thawai in Chiang Mai, whose speciality is wood carving; Doi Mae Salong in Chiang Rai with its tea plantations where oolong and green tea are grown and processed; Ban Dan Kwian in Nakhon Ratchasima and Ko Kret in Nonthaburi, both well known for their unique and very different kinds of pottery and ceramics; Ban Khiriwong in Nakhon Si Thammarat for its natural tie-dyed fabrics; Ban Bang Cho Cha in Ang Thong for its fine bamboo basketry; Ban Don Kaidee in Samut Sakhon for its delicate and colourful Benjarong ware, and Ban Aranyik in Ayutthaya, famous for the high quality of its blades and cutlery.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The First Eight OTOP Tourism Villages

These initial eight villages have been selected for the variety of products manufactured and for their geographical location. Each of the villages also has a number of houses served as home stay accommodation for both Thai and foreign visitors, and qualified guides which can be arranged for the inspection of the OTOP manufacturing process and for tours around the locality.

1.Ban Thawai in Hang Dong, Chiang Mai
- Located on the Chiang Mai-Hot Highway, the Ban Thawai OTOP Tourism Village is famous for its furniture and woodcarving workshops. The craftsmanship of the villagers has been admired for generations, and they have elevated the craft of woodcarving to an art form. The furniture made here is of immense variety, ranging from rustic styles to exquisite temple decorations, antique reproductions, and the modern styles seen in lifestyle stores throughout the world.

2.Doi Mas Salong, Chiang Rai
- Doi Mae Salong grew from a resettlement area for Chinese troops and their families who had withdrawn across the Chinese border to escape the communist forces in 1961. They defended the Thai border against incursion with such fierceness and loyalty that the Thai government allowed them to settle and develop Mae Salong, and the museum here traces the history of those turbulent times. The most famous OTOP product from Doi Mae Salong is tea, with oolong and green tea amongst the aromatic and flavourful varieties grown in the many surrounding plantations. Chinese culture is reflected in the local dishes, many of them using tea as an ingredient.

3.Ban Dan Kwian in Dan Kwian, Nakhon Ratchasima
- Nakhon Ratchasima used to be a rest area for caravans trading between Khorat and Cambodia. The Mun River flows through it, and villagers for generations have used clay from the riverbanks to make pottery that is unlike any other. The clay is black, and is found only in the area of Dan Kwian. When fired, it develops a tough, ductile texture and a rust colour, and the villagers have over the years developed designs that utilise these qualities to the full and make indoor and outdoor pottery that is completely unique.

4.Ban Ko Kret in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi
- Ko Kret is an island in the Chao Phraya River first inhabited by Mon people towards the end of the Ayutthaya period. The Mon are famous for producing a distinctive style of pottery that dates back many centuries, and the unique characteristic of Ko Kret pottery is its beautiful colour, created when the raw Nonthaburi clay is fires, unglazed at 1,000 degrees.

5.Ban Khiriwong in Lan Saka, Nakhon Si Thammarat
- Ban Khiriwong is a village at the foot of the Khao Luang mountain. Lush forests, cool streams with sandy banks, and hospitable villagers combine to make the area an ideal setting for enjoying the Thai countryside, and the village has been awarded for the high standard of its eco-tourism, including home stay accommodation and guided tours of the area. Ban Khiriwong's OTOP fame derives from its beautiful, natural tie-dyed fabrics, bamboo basketry, products made from coconut shell, and preserved fruit made from the produce of its many orchards.

6.Ban Bang Chao Cha in Pho Thong, Ang Thong
- Ang Thong was a frontier outpost during the wars with Burma. As a defence against marauders, Ang Thong had the advantage of being on a low plain without any forests or mountains, so that an invading army could be seen and dealt with long before it reached Ayutthaya. Ang Thong refers to the fertile river basin of this area, with such plentiful fish and rice that it was likened to a golden bowl, or ang thong. The traditional craft of the people of Bang Chao Cha was basket-making, and today they make highly-fashionable accessories in addition to the original artifacts of the Ayutthaya era. provinces and is situated at the mouth of the Tha Chin River. The name Tha Chin means that it was a port where Chinese sailing junks moored. Ban Don Kaidee is a centre for producing exquisite Benjarong, the delicate, hand-painted pottery that originated in China but which the Thais over the centuries refined and made uniquely their own.

7.Ban Aranyik in Bakhon Luang, Ayutthaya
- The ancient city of Ayutthaya, the capital for 417 years, is one of Thailand's major tourist attractions. Many ancient ruins and art works can be seen in a city that was founded in 1350 by King U-Thong when their northern neighbours forced the Thais southwards. Ayutthaya was ruled by 33 kings of different dynasties until it was sacked by the Burmese in 1767. Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Ban Aranyik is where knives and swords are forged by hand in the same way as they were in the golden age of Ayutthaya.

The followings chapters introduce the important elements which form the background and the structure of the OTOP Tourism Villages initiative:

- Thailand and its regions
- The role of the One Tambon One Product (OTOP)
- Home Stay in Thailand
- Home Stay Certification Standards

Selecting villages for the first phase

OTOP products are handicrafts of many kinds made with many techniques and in many different materials. They may be pottery, furniture, cotton and silk garments, fashion accessories, household items practical and decorative and many other articles indigenous to each community. The essential ingredient is they are all hand-made with great skill, and reflect the uniqueness of their localities.

With thousands of tambon (an administrative sub-districts that may be towns, a village or a collection of villages) throughout Thailand each producing its own distinctive products, the size and scope of the OTOP Programme is enormous. From the beginning it was decided to categorise the products with a starrating system that would be used in marketing strategies. The OTOP Product Selection Committee chose 627 OTOP products that would bear the premier 5-star logo.

Each of the OTOP Tourism Villages produces a 5-star OTOP product. Other considerations in selecting the villages include accessible locations close to popular tourist routes, an attractive geographic character and environment, residents' friendly attitudes, an interesting history, and most of all, interesting production process that can be demonstrated to visitors. Residents of the chosen OTOP communities will maintain their normal way of life by preserving their own customs and traditions.

To ensure that all this is easily accessible to visitors, and that they are assured of a comfortable stay, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Office of Tourism Development has developed certification standards based on the well-established Thailand home stay tourism programme that has already enjoyed great success in attracting visitors to rural areas. These standards are applied to accommodation, food and nutrition, safety, management, tourism services, environment, added value and marketing.

Consequently, visitors to the OTOP Tourism Villages are able to experience a way of life that may have remained unchanged in its essence for centuries. Families warmly welcome guests into their homes and are happy to share their lifestyle with the visitors, offering insights into their ways and traditions, sharing their meals, and arranging guided rambles or drives around the locality. Sampling the local foods, attending local festivals, visiting historic temples and monuments, and exploring areas of natural beauty are all part of this home stay experience.

Visitors will see how these leading OTOP products, now on sale in the international markets, are manufactured. A guide will explain the history and the craftsmanship that goes into the manufacturing process, and the visitors will be able to talk to the craftsmen and the community leaders who have helped steer the OTOP product to success, for each of these is a cooperative venture in which many people in the community will have played an important part.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Thailand 's youngest minitry

The OTOP Tourism Villages Project is being developed by Thailand 's youngest ministry, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Formed in the latter haft of 2002, the Ministry is moving ahead with and an energetic programme designed to maintain and upgrade the quality of Thai tourism. local products and destinations.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has cabinet -level status and the administrative and operational powers to address issues relate to infrastructure controls and legislative matters. Its main focus is ensuring that Thailand remains a high quality and sustainable tourism destination.

The Tourism Authority to Thailand (TAT) come under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and is in charge of international and domestic marketing. Within the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, specific responsibility for tourism and hence for the OTOP Tourism Villages project has been given to a unit called the Office of Tourism Development.

In practical working terms this means that the Ministry of Tourism and Sports is responsible for setting policies and strategic action plans as well as working with the public and private sectors to ensure their effective implementation. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is also responsible for training programmes, using information technology in the administration and management of tourism, and working with other government ministries as well as local administrative organisations, and private and community groups to ensure the development of sustainable tourism.

The office of Tourism Development has been responsible for developing the first eight OTOP Tourism Villages. each of which is a noted OTOP producer, into viable tourism destinations.The Villages are

1. Ban Thawai in the Chiang Mai

2. Doi Mae Salong in Chiang Rai

3. Ban Dan Kwian in Nakhon Ratchasima

4. Ban Ko Kret in Nonthaburi

5. Ban Khiriwong in Nakhon Si Thammarat

6. Ban Bang Chao Cha in Ang Thong

7. Ban Don Kaidee in Samut Sakhon

8. Ban Aranyik in Ayutthaya.