Awards for rural tourism in Thailand
The Thai Tourism Authority (TAT) has for the first time organized an award for rural tourism in Thailand. The role of the country's various local communities is to be recognized in the areas of heritage, culture, art and cuisine. In addition, the quality of community-based tourism should be increased throughout the country. The villages are motivated to improve their services and infrastructure.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, said, “This is a historic rural tourism contest that has involved the successful collaboration of a broad range of public and private sector bodies and educational institutions. We want to promote and encourage rural tourism villages to be strong and self-reliant. This is in line with the national policy to promote rural development, create jobs, and develop a sustainable economic foundation. The awards would also meet TAT’s objective to integrate tourism with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially the poverty-alleviation target.”
The awards are allocated in the categories "The Top 5 Rural Tourism Villages" and "The Top 5 OTOP Tourism Villages". OTOP stands for "One Tambon One Product". The program supports locally produced goods of the 7,255 Thai tambons (sub-districts). OTOP products include local produce such as handicrafts, clothing, pottery, jewelry and accessories, household items and food. They are popular with both domestic and foreign tourists.
A total of 25 villages were nominated for the rural tourism category and 100 OTOP villages. A committee of experts will examine the applications before traveling to selected communities to determine the winners. The Rural Tourism Award will be announced on September 27th. The OTOP villages will be honored later this year.