I am not sure I fully understand what the Thai Tourism Authority understands by Community-Based Tourism. But Amnat Charoen is one of two provinces (the other is in the south of Thailand) that is going to run a CBT pilot project. I need to understand what is meant because I have been co-opted onto the Provincial committee that is to draw up plans for the different amphur in the province. My job is to 'collect data'. I wasn't at the original committee meeting (though Pensri is one of the Phana representatives and she was there) so I can interpret data collection pretty much as I please, I think.
Tourists already come to Phana, almost all of them Thais coming from other parts of the country. They visit Wat Phra Lao and sometimes Don Chao Poo Forest Park. On average, they spend no more than 30 minutes in Phana before getting back into their big tour bus or private car and heading off to the next stop on their itinerary.
These tourists are in no way based in our community. They donate to the wat, no doubt, and those going to Don Chao Poo purchase some food (not necessarily appropriate food) for the monkeys there. But Phana gains little or nothing from their visit
What I have done so far is produced a document outlining what Amphur Phana has to offer to tourists so that they might spend more time here and provide some income-generating opportunities for Phana people.
SITES TOURISTS COULD VISIT IN AMPHUR PHANA
- Wat Phra Lao -- 300-year-old temple and famous Buddha image
- Wat Ban I-Keng -- attractive wat in a nearby village
- Wat Ban Sao-Ree --village wat with school for novices 12 - 18 years old
- Wat Don Kwan --new(ish) wat in Tambon Phana; largest black Buddha image in Isan; 2nd tallest Phra That under construction
- Don Chao Poo Forest Park -- Buddha images, Chao Poo shrine, monkeys
- Weaving groups: Ban Phana, Ban Pathum Kaew; Ban Soi (silk production from mulberry leaves to cloth)
- Traditional Medicine Centre: Traditional Massage (treatment and training); herbal medicine production and sales
- Model Agricultural Centre, at Fai Rong Hin, Phra Lao Municipality
- School visit(s)
- Noodle-shops and restaurants
ACCOMMODATION: at Phana Garden Resort
INCOME-GENERATING OPPORTUNITIES: Phana Garden Resort, Noodle-shops and Restaurants, Taxi and bus services, Hire of bicycles, Purchase of woven products, Purchase of herbal medicines, Purchase of traditional massage services, Invitations to donate for site visits:
REQUIREMENTS BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION:
- “Come to Phana” brochure produced, in Thai and in English
- “Come to Phana” brochure to be made available at TAT offices in Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani, Yassothon, Si Sa Ket, Bangkok, etc. And on TAT web-site.
- Production of bi-lingual informational guide leaflets to individual sites; to be made available at the sites, and at Phana Garden Resort, Amphur Offices, Tetsaban offices and OPT offices
- Production of map of Phana district showing facilities, routes and distances; to be made available as guide leaflets above
- English-language menus compiled and made available in noodle-shops and restaurants
- Purchase of bicycles for hire; to be made available at a central location where they are easily available and can be checked for repair, etc. (eg Tetsaban Phana IT Centre at the Old Market)
I suspect that 'Home-Stay' might be part of the TAT definition of CBT, but to me there seems little point in making all the arrangements that would entail until it becomes clear that there is demand for it from tourists. It would be different if there were not already somewhere to stay. But a visit I recently made to a 'Cultural Village' in Kalasin Province suggests that what might be envisaged is putting on some sort of cultural performance for large groups of tourists who would be put up in village homes. But this means inspecting and certifying the homes, and preparing to entertain groups which might never materialise. That seems to me a recipe for disillusionment and cynicism. To be fair, at the village in Kalasin it did seem to be working to a certain extent, but that is down to the village being entirely populated by an ethnic group that is sufficiently 'different' to create interest, and whose culture is sufficiently well-maintained that there is likely to be little about it that is specially put on for tourists. I am not sure that Amphur Phana is sufficiently different in that respect, but it does have enough to interest someone for a stay of, say, two days. We shall see what, if anything, comes of this initiative.
(No photos with this post, but I expect to be posting about the various sites as I go about 'collecting data'.)
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