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Shining Mai Khao Promoting Ecotourism in Mai Khao, Phuket, Thailand via Youth Capacity Building “Tourists come, Turtles stay”
Motto Hikaru Sonida - Cambodia/ Anggun-Indonesia/ Yus-Malaysia/ Daniel-Myanmar/ Som-Thailand/ Chi-Vietnam
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TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 TEAM INTRODUCTION 3
TEAM NAME AND LOGO 4
GROUP DISCUSSION PROCESS 5
MAI KHAO BACKGROUND INFORMATION 10 Basic Information of Mai Khao 10 The Current Socio-economic Challenges in Mai Khao 14 Turtle Conservation and Environment Programmes in Mai Khao 199 Existing Programmes and The Current Gap 21
PROJECT DESCRIPTION 22 Learning Method 23 Project Implementation Planning 23 Project Preparation Timeline 24 Activity Description 25 Outcomes and Outputs 31
COST ESTIMATION AND FUNDING SOURCES 34
CONCLUSION 37
REFERENCES 39
APPENDIXES 41
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1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Phuket is a world-renowned experiencing tourist destination in Thailand. This island
had went through rapid infrastructural development to cater to progressively
increasing number of foreign tourists over the last decade. Phuket had experienced
development of hotels, resorts and other facilities to cater increasing number of
visitors and provided numerous economic opportunities to the majority of Phuket’s
local inhabitants. However, these developments came at a cost especially on the
island’s environmental and cultural heritage as well as the society’s other attributes.
Unlike the rest of Phuket, Mai Khao is an area which is located far from the Phuket
City Centre and is regarded to be the last natural beach in Phuket due to its proximity
to the Sirinath National Park and relatively low number of tourists. Mai Khao is also
facing its own challenges especially on the environment degradation and youth
social mobility. The Shining Mai Khao project proposed in this report aims to
investment in Mai Khao’s social capital by providing the necessary foundation of
knowledge and skills for youth in Mai Khao effectively allowing them to act as agents
of change in the society. This four-day capacity building programme to promote
ecotourism in Mai Khao envisaged the creation of a sustainable society that can
harness Mai Khao’s sense of identity, unique cultural heritage and natural
environment for ecotourism as well as development of other tourism products
including handicrafts, as part of a long journey towards a sustainable future
2.0 TEAM INTRODUCTION
Figure 1. Motto Hikaru Team Members
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Motto Hikaru team is comprised of six members and they are from different countries and
backgrounds. Ms. Sokchea Sonida (Nida) is from Cambodia and she is a recruitment
manager of “Recruiting & Learning Delivery Department”, Manulife Cambodia PLC. Ms.
Anggun Pesona Intan Puspita (Anggun) is from Indonesia and she is a lecturer and
community service program coordinator from PPM School of Management. Mr. Yusrizam
Sharifuddin (Yus) from Malaysia is an academic in UM. Mr. Zaw Tu Hkawng (Daniel) is
from Myanmar and he is a managing director of the “Rehabilitation Center for Youth”
which is running under the “Harvest Evangelical Ministry”. Ms. Katinasamit Kamonchaok
(Som) is from Thailand and she is a Judge of the Phuket Provincial Court. Ms Nguyen
Minh Thinh (Chi) is from Vietnam and she is a founder and director of Cuong Thinh BLV
Social Co., Ltd.
3.0 TEAM NAME AND LOGO
The team name is “Motto Hikaru” made of two Japanese words. “Motto” means “More”
and “Hikaru” means “Shining”. Therefore, it can literally be translated as “More Shining”.
In other words, “Keep Shining and Shining”. Figure 2 is a logo of team “Motto Hikaru” and
the six stars represents the six team members and the turtle represents the Mai Khao
Beach as it is well-known for turtles’ nesting areas. Team members aspire to make Mai
Khao beach to keep on shining.
Figure 2. Motto Hikaru Logo
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4.0 GROUP DISCUSSION PROCESS
The goal of this proposed projects is to promote ecotourism in Mai Khao, Phuket via youth
capacity building. There are three main objectives of this project which can be
represented as three important keywords namely, awareness, skills and inclusivity.
Firstly, the project aims to raise awareness among younger generation in Mai Khao on
ecotourism and sustainable community. “Skills” represented the project’s objective of
building the capacity for younger generation on ecotourism through experiential learning
and the final objective is to promote inclusivity among local tourism stakeholders such as
hotels, local authorities, turtle conservation and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Figure 3. Supply and Demand Compound Annual Growth in Phuket
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Table 1. Project Link to Sustainable Development Goals
The project’s objectives can be linked to three closely related Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) namely Goal 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 11 on
Sustainable Cities and Communities, and also Goal 14 on Life Below Water as shown in
Figure 3. Table 1 shows cross-linking between the project’s objectives and the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The objectives on raising awareness and
promoting inclusivity can be linked to all SDGs 8, 11 and 14 goals whereas the second
objective addresses SDGs 8 and 14 goals’ respectively. Further elaboration on the link
between the project’s objectives and SDGs reveal the importance of achieving the
intended overall goal of this project. The Shining Mai Khao project intended to create
employment opportunities via ecotourism by focusing on unique natural and cultural
heritage of Mai Khao in a sustainable manner. Such employment opportunities should be
of equal pay for work of equal value and are accessible to men and women, as well as
youth and persons with disabilities.
As Phuket is rapidly developing and construction of hotels and resorts are constantly
ongoing, it is very important to protect and safeguard Mai Khao’s natural and cultural
heritage. Development of Mai Khao should be pursued sustainably. Positive
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environmental and socio-economic links between Mai Khao and other sub-districts or
nearby areas should also be promoted by involving multiple stakeholders. Mai Khao is a
beach which is regarded as one of the last natural beach in Phuket, located within the
Sirinath National Park and one of the landing sites for turtle nesting area. However, due
to environmental degradation and littering, the landing sites in Mai Khao witnessed
decreased number of turtles. Therefore, as part of the project’s objectives and SDG Goal
14 in conserving and sustainably use marine coastline and marine resources. As marine
turtle is unique to Mai Khao and can be effectively use as unique icon or attraction as well
as promotional mascot, this necessitates the need to manage and protect marine and
coastal ecosystems in a sustainable manner to avoid significant adverse impacts and
take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.
Furthermore, littering must be stopped and it is important to prevent and significantly
reduce all marine pollution especially from land-based human activities.
Throughout the IATSS Forum Programme, the team had obtained numerous learning
points which are useful for implementation in crafting this project. The takeaway and
learning points drawn from the seminars and field trips to Kobe, Kyoto, Toba and
Sugashima Island were taken into consideration. The Shining Mai Khao project team had
discussed and listing the takeaway points that can be applied to the Mai Khao local
community includes:
● Increasing the awareness on sustainable development and sustainable
community;
● Importance of preserving local cultural and natural heritage for future generations;
● Preservation of local cultural and natural heritage via sustainable ecotourism;
● Identification and cultivation of unique local features and attractions as
differentiating factors for sustainable development via tourism;
● Increasing the awareness, sense of values and sense of belonging among local
population towards the city and local area;
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● Highlighting the importance of environmental assets in sustainable development.
Figure 4. Learning Points from IATSS Forum
As represented in Figure 5, from various field trips especially to Toba city field trip on the
preservation of Ama culture and natural resources, as well as Yokkaichi’s air-pollution
cases; the project team paid high attention on how craft a possible solution to balance
between economic growth and environmental preservation. In order to pursue socio-
economic development, there is always a risk of compromising of environmental
preservation in those particular areas, including in the tourism industry. With this reason,
the project team is trying to put more focus to promote ecotourism initiative contributing
to economic growth at the same time protected the natural resources.
Figure 5. Group Study Discussion Leading to Ecotourism Topic
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Figure 6. Supply and Demand Compound Annual Growth in Phuket
Figure 7. Supply and Demand Compound Annual Growth in Phuket
Figure 8. Supply and Demand Compound Annual Growth in Phuket
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During the course of discussion and background reading, it was discovered that Phuket
had experienced more than three times increase in the arrival of tourists since 2006 and
there was an 11% growth of total tourist arrival in Phuket in 2016 with 9% increase in
hotel room numbers across Phuket. There has always been steady increase of tourist
and hotel room supply and as Figure 6 shows, for the year 2015 to 2016, there were more
than 30,000 additional hotel rooms made available in hotels across Phuket within a one-
year period. In Mai Khao, there is currently only 28 hotels offering around 2,165 rooms
for tourists and during the high tourist season especially during the first half of the year,
room occupancy rate can be high. For example, during the first half of 2015, 78% of the
hotel rooms in Mai Khao were occupied as highlighted in Figure 8. Therefore, to ensure
development is being pursued responsibly in Mai Khao to cater for future influx of tourists,
sustainable development involving various stakeholders in Mai Khao should be pursued
to avoid repeating the same uncontrolled development which can be potentially damaging
to the environment in Mai Khao especially the marine turtle nesting areas.
5.0 MAI KHAO BACKGROUND INFORMATION
5.1 Basic Information of Mai Khao, Phuket, Thailand
Mai Khao is a sub-district (Tambon) of Thalang District (Amphoe) in Phuket Province, an
island in the southern part of Thailand. Mai Khao is located in the northernmost part of
Phuket. As of April 2017, Mai Khao comprises of 7 villages with 13,079 inhabitants.
People in Mai Khao are 60% Buddhist Thai, 35% Muslim Thai, 3% Christian Thai, and
2% Moken/Sea Gypsy. The main occupation is in agriculture (rubber field and pineapple
farm), taxi drivers, hotel employees and in fishery industry.1
The west coast of Mai Khao connects to Andaman Sea which is called Mai Khao Beach.2
It is the most popular tourist attraction in Mai Khao. This 11 kilometre-long straight beach
1https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7 2http://www.maikhaow.go.th/index.php?options=general2
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is still undeveloped as it is part of the Sirinat National Park.3 That is why Mai Khao Beach
was regarded as the only remaining natural beach in Phuket.4
5.2 The Current Socio-economic Situation in Phuket As shown in Figure 9, there were 13.41 million tourists visiting Phuket in 2016.5 71% were
foreign tourists. The number increased 1.57% from the previous year.6 As a consequence
of being a popular tourist destination, Phuket is encountering several challenges including
degradation of natural environment due to rapid development, economic issues such as
domination of foreign capital and foreign ownership via nominees as well as social issues
including the increasing risk of losing local cultural identity.
Figure 9. Number of Passengers Arriving in Phuket International Airport in 2016
3http://www.phuket.com/island/mai-khao-beach.htm#promo 4http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/news/detail/705991 5http://phuket.nso.go.th/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373&Itemid=636 6 Ibis.
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5.2.1 Environmental Issues 5.2.1.1 Degradation of Natural Environment:
The beautiful scenery of Phuket has been attracting a large number of investors, both
national and foreign, to venture in tourism industry through the construction of hotels,
resorts, and restaurants. Since the beginning of the tourism development in Phuket, many
land titles had been issued illegally in the forest areas and have been transferred to many
beneficiaries that it is difficult to revoke.
5.2.1.2 Endangered Marine Species:
All of the local marine habitats, including coral reef, mangrove forest, and the pelagic
environment, are currently suffering impacts from various economic activities that
contribute to the economic prosperity of Phuket and the region, including commercial
over-fishing, shrimp-farming, sedimentation, pollution, marine litter and coastal erosion.
Five species of sea turtle nest on islands in Thai waters - leatherbacks, green turtles,
loggerheads, hawksbills and ridleys. All of these are endangered species and they are
less frequently sighted every year. Aside from more than 30 recorded species of sea
snakes, the only other marine reptile in the region is the brackish-water crocodile, virtually
extinct, a species which inhabits mangrove swamps and river estuaries along the
southern peninsula. Even the pelagic environment, perhaps the least vulnerable of these
habitats, has been so intensively fished since the introduction of trawl-net fishing in 1962
that commercial fisheries are threatened with being fished past their maximum
sustainable yield.7
5.2.2. Economic Issues 5.2.2.1 Dominance of Foreign Capital:
Many local businesses in Phuket is now taken over by foreign entrepreneurs. Currently,
when the foreign tourists come to Phuket, the tour will be led by foreign travel agency and
the restaurants, souvenir shop, and resorts they visit will be the local ones that the
nationals of their respective countries are de facto owners. Hence, local people do not
7 Phuket Sustainability Indicator Report 2013
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benefit or make profit from tourism industry anymore. Although Thai law prohibits
foreigners to operate certain types of business in Thailand, including travel agency,
foreign investors avoid that law by hiring Thai nominees. In the past, Rawai fish market
in Rawai Beach was really famous because tourists could buy fish freshly caught by Sea
Gypsy people and carry to the restaurants nearby to have them cooked. However, the
fish stalls are now owned by foreigners and the Sea Gypsy people become their
employees. The reason why this situation happened in Phuket might be because some
local people are still poor. Furthermore, without strong sense of belonging to Mai Khao
and economic strength, they are vulnerable to capitalism.
5.2.3 Social Issues 5.2.3.1 Losing Cultural Identity:
Economic dominance by foreign capital also subsequently results in the loss of cultural
identity. An interview with a local gives one insightful information regarding the recent
example for that. A local revealed that because of the popularity of the Erawan Shrine in
Bangkok, the similar Hindu shrine became popular among foreign tourists as well. Thus,
the tour agency built a Hindu Shrine in Buddhist Temples in exchange of a permission
from the temple to operate a souvenir shop inside in order to attract their customers. This
practice is gradually increased in Phuket which substantially destroys the cultural identity
Buddhist temples. Figures 10 and 11 below show the comparison.
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Figure 10. Erawan Hindu Shrine in Bangkok
Figure 11. Buddhist Temple in Phuket
5.3 The Current Socio-economic Challenges in Mai Khao
5.3.1 Low Popularity Figure 12 shows th map of Thailand andPhuket, showing the location of Mai Khao. Mai
Khao is located 10 kilometres from Phuket International Airport but far from the city centre
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and other famous beaches e.g. Patong, Karon, Rawai (approximately 35 kilometres or an
hour by car.) This results in less popularity of Mai Khao compared to other beaches in
Phuket. Another factor that makes Mai Khao unpopular or relatively quiet is that only a
short distance out into the water, there is a sharp drop off into the Andaman Sea, making
swimming dangerous from May to November.8 Out of 3,436 hotels in Phuket, only 28 of
them are located in Mai Khao.9
Figure 12a. Map of Thailand Figure 12b. Map of Phuket Province
8 http://www.phuket.com/island/mai-khao-beach.htm#promo 9 www.booking.com
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Figure 13. Map of Mai Khao
5.3.2 Endangered Turtle Species In the past, Mai Khao Beach was a nesting areas of the giant leatherback turtles or
Mafuang turtles. The number of turtles and turtle eggs found in Mai Khao area has been
drastically decreased over the recent years. The main causes were assumed to be the
installation of fishing equipment and plastic littering which was accidentally eaten by the
turtles.10 The leatherback turtle was last seen at Mai Khao Beach in 2010 with some of
its eggs, but unfortunately, none of the eggs was hatched.11 Now in Mai Khao Beach,
there are many projects launched with respect to turtle conservation, for example, building
turtle shelter. However, to breed and then release turtles back into the sea was criticised
as an inefficient preserving method.12 The best way to preserve the rare leatherback turtle
is likely to be the protection of the natural nesting areas, reduce the use of plastic and
keeping the beach clean, to which is the practice that everyone is capable .13
10 http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/news/detail/705991 11 Ibis. 12 http://www.dnp.go.th/park/sara/turtle/07-turtle.htm 13 Ibis, http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/news/detail/705991
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Figure 14. A leatherback turtle observed in Mai Khao beach in 2010
5.3.3 Cleanliness Due to the least popularity and tourist promotion strategies, Mai Khao beach is often
forgotten and hardly receives the mass media attention. There is a small proportion of
local and foreign tourists come and stay to enjoy the Phuket International Airport scenery
– at the same time – they polluted the beach with their left behind trashes. From the
questionnaire survey with one local hotel operator of Coriacea Resort at Mai Khao beach,
it was found out that waste management system is not fully implemented and least
number of environmental authority to pay attention on the littering locations as well. The
littering matter in Mai Khao beach is getting progressively more serious as shown in
Figure 15 and dangerous matters for the community people who live around those areas
and it is also contribute to the decrease number of turtle population.
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Figure 15. Littering in Mai Khao14
5.3.4 Local Industry Local products of Mai Khao are known as shrimp paste, plastic bags, batik bags, fragrant
soap, etc.15 In this regard, Thailand has launched a local entrepreneurship stimulus
programme since 2001 titled “One Tambon (Sub-district) One Product”, which was
originally derived from Japan’s One Village One Product (OVOP) campaign. This program
has been achieving considerable success in making local products sellable in global
market. There are some OTOPs from Mai Khao being promoted on OTOP’s official
website, as shown in Figure 16, such as handmade Batik clothes and shirts.16 However,
none of them looks promising due to several factors with the main drawback being lack
of uniqueness, thereby affecting it value, not attractive and not competitive in the tourism
market. Furthermore, from an interview with a local hotel operator in Mai Khao, she said
that Mai Khao has no local handicraft, but the locals sometimes produce some edible
products from seafood preservation. Accordingly, more OTOP ideas should be initiated
and properly promoted for Mai Khao residents in order to increase job opportunities as
well.
14 https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293920-d1149585-r339133214-Mai_Khao_Beach-Phuket.html#REVIEWS 15 http://www.maikhaow.go.th/index.php?options=otop 16 http://www.thaitambon.com/tambon/830305
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Figure 16. Mai Khao’s OTOPs as Appeared on the OTOP Website
5.4 Awareness on Ecotourism One of the issues in Mai Khao is the lack of awareness among the local population on
ecotourism. Based on the data from Bunna (2009), out of 400 inhabitants surveyed, it
was found that 78% locals never receive training on sustainable tourism from relevant
organization, 68% locals never receive information on sustainable tourism, 72% locals
never receive sustainable tourism information from local government. Furthermore, the
3-year development plan that has been implemented by local government was concluded
as not able to achieve sustainable tourism. By this information, we concluded that there
was an urgency to increase awareness and implement capacity building program on
ecotourism.
5.5 Turtle Conservation and Environment Programmes in Mai Khao
It is very pleasing to see some of the activities and programmes that are related to the
environmental protection in Mai Khao. Annually, the local communities, hotel staff,
government officers, and people from non-governmental organizations celebrate “Mai
Khao Marine Turtle Release” event since 2009 in order to raise fund and awareness about
the endangered sea creatures- Turtles among the communities and the international
tourists. People can donate 5000 THB to release one turtle and which really attracts
people to donate more for the event. This year, they have just celebrated the “8th Annual
Mai Khao Marine Turtle Release 2017” in April 13, 2017 and the event went successfully
well.
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Another interesting way of promoting environmental protection for Mai Khao by the local
government is “Turtle Fun Run”. Local communities, hotel staffs and the international
and local travelers are invited to join and just recently the “13th Turtle Fun Run” event has
done amazingly well and which was on October 8, 2017. The purpose behind the event
is to raise awareness about the environmental issue in their local communities. In fact, it
was very engaging, fun, and productive event to project the importance of preserving
environment.
Under the theme “World Ocean Days 2017”, the locals are gathering to collect rubbishes
along the Mai Khao beach and clean the beach together. Beach and reef cleaning,
recycling project and mangrove tree planning are wonderful activities that have been done
by the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation (MKMTF). With the initial donation of 45, 000
US dollar from JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa and the Minor Hotel Group, the
foundation started in 2002. In addition, many other hotels such as Marriott Vacation Club
International and Anantara Hotels and Resorts are committed to raise funds for the
foundation in order to do more on Marine Conservation.
Mai Khao beach is well-known for its welcoming nesting turtles and therefore eggs are
rescued and given to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) and PMBC gives an
intensive care for them. In addition, Royal Thai Navy provides a safe home and
environment for the eggs to incubate and the newly growing turtles to be able to grow day
by day before they return to their home- SEA. All those activities that are mentioned above
are funded by the Turtle Foundation. 17
17 http://www.maikhaomarineturtlefoundation.org
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5.6 Existing Programmes and The Current Gap
Figure 17. Current Gap in Existing Programmes
Figure 17 shows the current gap that needs to be bridged in order to achieve the
sustainable community in Mai Khao. There is always room for improvement and the Mai
Khao beach is no exception. The way the existing activities and programmes addresses
the environmental issue is selectively and it seems “Hit and Run” project. For instance,
“Turtle Fun Run 13th” is a big event but the next day people already forget the objective
of celebrating the event. Therefore, it should be addressed holistically.
In terms of raising awareness and funds to preserve the marine creatures like turtle, the
local communities, hotels and non-governmental organization like “The Mai Khao Marine
Turtle Foundation” have done wonderfully. However, in order to achieve the sustainable
community in Mai Khao and it is impossible to overlook the educational part and that’s
where the Shining Mai Khao project is aimed at bridging the current gap. Therefore, the
project will promote the ecotourism in Mai Khao by educating young people who will then
act as agents of change, increasing awareness and mindset of older generation as well
as the local community. Therefore, the concept of the project is addressing the
environmental issue holistically and achieving the sustainable community in Mai Khao
through education.
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6.0 SHINING MAI KHAO: PROJECT DESCRIPTION The name of the project is Shining Mai Khao and the goal of this project is to promote
ecotourism in Mai Khao, Thailand via Youth Capacity Building. Youth capacity building
program will be used as a tool in promoting awareness about the importance of
maintaining the balance of developing economic while preserving environment and local
traditions. The objectives of these activities are:
1) Raising awareness among young generation on ecotourism and sustainable community. Mai Khao is facing environmental and social sustainability related
issues. Local people do not want to work in Mai Khao because they think there are
not many jobs and business opportunities available. Through seminar on tourism in
general and on Mai Khao in particular, the four-day workshop provides students with
knowledge of sustainable tourism and current tourism situation in Mai Khao, thus
building awareness to younger generation.
2) Capacity building for younger generation on ecotourism through experiential learning. Many alternatives of tourist attractions and experience in Mai Khao have
not been fully explored yet. According to a local resort owner in Mai Khao, ecotourism
trend is still developing. However, the integrated ecotourism service has not been
developed as one of Mai Khao unique selling point. Therefore, introducing ecotourism
and necessary tools for service development is necessary to younger generations.
Through experiential learning method participants can internalize the subject, try by
themselves, and reflect on what they have learned during the day.
3) Promote inclusivity among local tourism stakeholders. Through this program, all
the stakeholders will be involved in taking part of each activity. This is needed to give
clear image to all the participants on how the stakeholders working and collaborating
each other. This project also needed to give more awareness of the inclusiveness
and connection among the stakeholders.
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6.1 Learning Methods
Shining Mai Khao programme shall include three main learning methods:
1) Seminars Four seminars on different topics will provide an opportunity for participants to
learn about Mai Khao and the current challenges in Mai Khao; an understanding of
working in Tourism and Hospitality industries; and opportunity to learn about business
skills and OTOP movements. Lecturers of the Seminars are business leaders and
professors from leading universities in Thailand.
2) Field Studies After gaining an understanding of tourism in Mai Khao and its current challenges
as well as knowledge of Tourism and Hospitality industries, participants will visit travel
company, hotel, ecotourism projects to see how these facilities work in practice.
3) Skills Training
In addition to Seminar and Field Study, participants will also receive basic training
on English skills, Customer service skills and Communication skills that will help them to
decide if they can work in Tourism and Hospitality industries.
6.2 Project Implementation Planning
The project will be carried out in 4 days of workshop and training program targeted 15
young people around 18 - 25 years old in Mai Khao and some sub districts around the
area. The reason behind choosing the young people are 1) Young people are at the stage
of reaching ideal self and thought, so that it will be easier to give new knowledge and
skills to that particular group, 2) Young people around that age are reaching university or
college stage, means that they are already acquired basic knowledge, 3) young people
around that age are at the stage of figuring out the career choice and plan, so that this
program will effectively reach their aspirations.
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In this project, several potential stakeholders will be involved to deliver various skills
training and knowledge, also career descriptions available in hospitality and tourism
industry. These collaborations will enrich participants’ point of view as they come from
different backgrounds and experience. The potential stakeholders involved in this projects
are hotels and tour operators, government, NGOs/NPOs, local communities, and youth
associations.
Collaboration between stakeholders is not only for workshop purpose only, but also in
promotion the activity, recruitment, and selection process. Those activities will be
undergone together between the Motto Hikaru Team and youth associations.
6.3 Project Preparation Timeline
Figure 18. A Project Preparation Timeline
Figure 18 is a project preparation timeline and it aims to start at the end of September
and the beginning of October 2018. Many preparations will be made in order to make an
effective and efficient project. Therefore, a location survey will be done at the February,
2018 and then coordination with partners will begin at the March, 2018. After that, the
coordination process with local communities will be carried out at May, 2018 and project
promotion will be take place at June, 2018. In August, 2018, the recruitment process of
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the project will begin. After the project activities, the impact assessment (PDCA) will be
followed up.
6.4 Activity Description
Main activities of four-day workshop include:
Day 1:
Figure 19. Day 1 Main Activities
Session 1 of Day 1: Orientation and Team Building
• Purpose To build initial understanding about the program and build teamwork as well as
mutual understanding between the participants.
• Activity Description Orientation will be the first activity in the morning. This is very important because
before all the activities will be run for 4 days, participants should have the same
image of the overall activities, what are the outputs we expected from them, and
the basic commitment they have to implant. The orientation will be followed by
team building that consists of several games for group setting.
• Stakeholder involved Motto Hikaru team will lead the overall activities.
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Session 2 of Day 1: Introduction of Mai Khao • Purpose
To build understanding about current Mai Khao situation, opportunities, and
challenges in tourism and hospitality industries
• Activity Description This lecturer session will cover the whole basic and important information about
Mai Khao area, demographic and geographic data, as well as sociographic and
tourism area. This session will also introduce several challenges and opportunities
faced by Mai Khao.
• Stakeholder Involved
This session will be delivered by Open-minded Project, an NGO which focuses on
ecotourism projects in Phuket.
Session 3 of Day 1: Introduction of Tourism & Hospitality
• Purpose
To give an introduction of Hospitality and Tourism Industry so that participants will
be able to decide if they can work in these industries.
• Activity Description At this seminar, lecturers who are professionals working in Tourism and Hospitality
industries will provide participants with knowledge of tourism and hospitality
industries while also describe about the career options in their respective fields. It
will involve 4 players in Hospitality and Tourism Industry. This session will be
ended by QnA session.
• Stakeholder Involved This session will be delivered by Hilton Hotel Phuket and some of tour companies
in Phuket
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Session 4 of Day 1: Mai Khao Hotel Tour • Purpose
To give hands on experience about how a hotel operates and contributes to the
industry
• Activity Description In this session, participants will be invited to have a hands-on experience about
how a hotel operates and gain revenues. Participants will have opportunities to
serve in different positions, for example as receptionist, room cleaning, etc.
• Stakeholder Involved Anatara Vacation Club Maikhao
Day 2:
Figure 20. Day 2 Main Activities
Session 1 of Day 2: Group Study
• Purpose
To give the participants the skills and a hands-on experience in designing the tour
• Activity Description
In this session, participants will be asked to design some tour routes in Mai Khao
based on their initial image and understanding. They also can take the learning
points from the previous lecturers. Motto Hikaru Team will hand the A1 sized paper
and colorful markers for them to design the routes.
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• Stakeholder Involved
Open-minded Project will deliver the session assisted by Motto Hikaru Team.
Session 2 of Day 2: Business Skills and OTOP (One Tambon One Product) Training
• Purpose
To give awareness about OTOP product ideas and to equip participants with basic
knowledge of business and entrepreneurship
• Activity Description This session will give an introduction about potential unique products that can be
developed in Mai Khao area. Participants will be given time to work in group to
think and design the potential OTOP based on their initial understanding. After
that, the lecture session will be carried out to provide deeper knowledge on how to
commercialize the OTOP ideas.
• Stakeholder Involved United World College Thailand and Tambon Thailand will be invited to deliver the
lecturer assisted by Motto Hikaru Team.
Session 3 of Day 2: Tour and Community Visits
• Purpose
To enhance sense of belonging about their local communities and to raise the
ideas of any potential OTOP product
• Activity Description In this activity, the participants will be invited to go around Mai Khao area and
visiting some respective local communities, for example, shrimp paste home
industry, local market, local authorities, important and historical landmarks, etc.
This session will be continued by further discussion on potential OTOP product
ideas that come up from the tour.
• Stakeholder Involved
Tambon Thailand in Phuket will deliver the session assisted by Motto Hikaru Team.
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Day 3:
Figure 21. Day 3 Main Activities
Session 1 of Day 3: Environmental Cleaning
• Purpose
To raise the awareness about the importance of environmental cleanliness for
future life
• Activity Description
Participants will be divided into three groups to clean 5km along the beach and its
surrounding area. The participants will be introduced with the type of rubbish and
its effect to environment.
• Stakeholder Involved
This activity will be carried out by Motto Hikaru Team
Session 2 of Day 3: Customer Service Orientation Training
• Purpose
To provide basic introduction of customer service skills to participants.
• Activity Description Participants will learn how to serve in a restaurant, how to receive customers, how
to greet them, and how to handle the complaint with the focus on their satisfaction.
• Stakeholder Involved
Hilton Phuket’s staffs are invited to deliver this training session
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Session 3 of Day 3: Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy for Tourism
• Purpose To give practical knowledge and tools on how to promote and communicate
tourism to attract more tourists.
• Activity Description
Participants will be taught the specific strategies about Integrated Marketing
Communications that are applicable for hospitality and tourism industry. For
example, using digital & social media, personal selling, advertising, and so on. This
lecture will be followed by group study about how to promote Mai Khao area or
OTOP products.
• Stakeholder Involved
This session will be delivered by Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Prince of
Songkla University
Session 4 of Day 3: Practice at hotel
• Purpose
To give hands on experience about how a hotel operates and serves customers
• Activity Description Participants will have an opportunity to apply acquired knowledge and skills into
practicing at hotel in different units.
• Stakeholder Involved
JW Marriot Hotel will deliver the session in JW Marriot Hotel.
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Day 4: Thematic Practical Session
Figure 22. Day 4 Main Activities
• Purpose
For participants to apply knowledge and skills which they gain in the first three
days into practice.
• Activity Description
Participants will serve in different positions of tourism and hospitality industries
such as tour guide, hotel receptionist, etc. The real guests will be invited to
experience ecotourism in Mai Khao using the designated tour route done by the
participants. At the end of the session, guests will be asked to complete a survey
indicating their satisfaction level and suggestion for improvement.
• Stakeholder Involved
This session will be delivered by Motto Hikaru, Corea Boutique Resort, Anatara
Vacation Club Mai Khao, and JW Marriot Hotel.
6.5 Outcomes and Outputs
After four - day training workshop, participants are expected to gain a basic knowledge of
tourism and hospitality industry while also be aware of current challenges for tourism and
sustainable development in Mai Khao. Having learnt from experiences of experts in
tourism and hospitality industries, participants will be able to design a new tour route for
32
Mai Khao, make an integrated marketing communication strategy plan and generate new
ideas of OTOP products for Mai Khao, as indicated by the following figure.
Figure 23. Output and Deliverables
As for participants improvement, several tools and methods are needed to conduct the
evaluation, 1) pre-test to measure the common knowledge if participants in hospitality,
tourism, Mai Khao area, promotion tools, and OTOP products, 2) Post-test that will be
conducted to measure how improved their knowledge after intervention, 3) Observation
sheets that will be handed by Motto Hikaru team to know their behavior and how improved
their soft skills are, and 4) Customer feedbacks that will be given by tourists/guests to
measure their integrated skills after delivering a tour service.
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Beside deliverables that explained in the previous part, below is the project design matrix
that describing the measurement tools used for this project.
Table 2. Project Design Matrix
Project Summary
Indicators Means of Verification
Risks/ Assumptions
Goal # At least 10% of the participants will continue their career in hospitality and tourism industry in 3 years # At least 10% of participants will actively promotes ecotourism in Mai Khao
# Percentages of participants continuing their career in hospitality and tourism industry # Percentage of participants promoting ecotourism in different fields
# Alumni network and record
Outcome # Improve students awareness about ecotourism by at least 60% at the end of the program # Improve students soft skill in tourism and hospitality by 60% at the end of the program
# Score level in pre-test and post-test # Score level given by the observer and customers at Thematic Practical
# Pre-test and post-test will be conducted before and after the program # Observer sheet and customers satisfaction evaluation
# Improved knowledge about ecotourism and community will help them to understand # Improved soft-skills and hard skills will help them to prepare themselves in tourism and hospitality industry
Outputs # 15 High-School students in grade 10 (15 years old) with all students who interested in tourism industry and have lower awareness in ecotourism and Mai Khao area
# Number of students who complete training program
# Training program attendance records
# Students apply the knowledge and new skills to their life
Activities # Run one training program per year that deliver both knowledge and soft skills training in tourism and hospitality industries as well as giving knowledge about ecotourism and environment preservation
# Number of training program run in one year
# Training records
# Teacher and school willing to send the students to the training program # Hotels, local community willing to collaborate
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7.0 COST ESTIMATION AND FUNDING SOURCES As shown in Table 3, the total cost estimation of Shining Mai Khao project is around net
amount of USD 4,308.15 which allocates into two project phase: 1st phase will allocate
on project design stage with the estimate net amount of USD 495. This cost of project
team pre-visit and accommodations, partnership coordinating with local community will
be voluntary responsible by the project team. The estimation cost of the 2nd phase of
project implementation is around the net amount of USD 3,608. This budget will be
allocated to implementation of 4-day activities includes seminar, field study, skills training,
and thematic practical exercise. The estimate exchange rate will be THB30 = USD1 for
the budget estimation proposal - yet the exact exchange rate will be relying on Thailand
National Bank rate on the project proposal requested date.
For Day 1, the estimate budget will be USD 670.33 to allocate for Orientation and team
Building Team activities, Introduction to Mai Khao session, Occupation Options in
Tourism, and Hotel Tour around Mai Khao sub-district. For Day 2, the estimate budget
will be USD 560.33 for Seminar session on Mai Khao Tourism and Landscape, Group
Study on Design Tour, and Community visits. The estimate budget for Day 3 activities will
be USD 570.33 for Environmental Cleaning Activity, Customer Services Orientation
Training, Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy for Tourism session, and
Practical Exercise at the visit hotel. For Day 4, the estimate budget will be USD 1,807 for
Thematic Practical Activities, Closing Ceremony, Dinner and Networking Event with
stakeholders. For 4-day round-trips transportation, lunch and two times snacks per day
that provided at the accommodation places - will be covered in each day activity budget
expense.
35
Table 3. Total Budget Needed
The budget estimation expenses will cover 30 headcounts includes 15 youth participants,
2 teachers, at least 3 stakeholders per day, 4 people from Thailand IATSS Forum alumni
and IATSS Forum staffs, and 6 members of Shining Mai Khao project teams. 7.2 Potential Contributors or Actors to Shining Mai Khao Throughout the project outline and activities, the potential stakeholders have been
identified based on the activities and fields of expertise on their voluntary basis as shown
in Figure 24. The stakeholders will be selected from diverse eco-tourism involvement
parties include:
● Hotels: Coriacea Boutique Resort, JW Marriott Phuket, Anantara Mai Khao
Phuket.
● Local Authorities: Thailand Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Phuket Provincial
Authority, Thailand Courts of Justice.
● Foundation, NGOs, University: Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundations,
International Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources, IATSS
36
Forum, Prince of Songkla University.
Figure 24. Potential Stakeholders Involved
7.3 Potential Funding Sources The estimated budget cost around $4,308.15 for this project to be implemented. As shown
in Figure 25, the project Team plans to seek funding from following sources:
● IATSS Forum Program provides a grant of $2,000.00 for Thailand Alumni. The
project Team hopes to have 30% of the total cost from this grant.
● Companies/Enterprises 20%: The Project Team will work with companies and
enterprises that implement CSR policy in order to invite them to be part of our
project. For example, Hilton Hotel has travel grant which supports NGOs working
in education, youth unemployment and economic development. The grant is range
from $1000 - $5000. The Project Team hopes to have 20% of the total cost from
this grant.
● The Project Team will work with ecotourism projects such as Open-minded project
that will support us to cover 15% of total cost.
● Coriacea Boutique Resort will sponsor accommodation for participants.
Accommodation cost makes up 15% of the total cost.
37
● The Project Team will seek the rest of 20% of total cost from crowdfunding source
from IATSS Thailand alumni.
Figure 25. Potential Funding Sources
8.0 CONCLUSION Phuket is experiencing rapid development due to increasing number of foreign tourists to
this island. Over the last few years, Phuket had experienced development of hotels,
resorts and other facilities to cater to this increased number of visitors and in several
aspects, this rapid development came at a cost especially on the island’s natural and
cultural heritage. There are also other associated socio-economic challenges that were
highlighted in this report. Unlike the rest of Phuket, Mai Khao is an area which is located
far from the Phuket City Centre and other well-known beaches among tourists and
hospitality establishments. Mai Khao is regarded by some quarters to be the last natural
beach in Phuket due to its proximity to the Sirinath National Park but Mai Khao is also
facing its own socio-economic challenges. The Shining Mai Khao project aims to provide
necessary foundation of knowledge and skills for youth in Mai Khao to act as agents of
38
change in the society via capacity building to promote ecotourism in Mai Khao. This
investment in Mai Khao’s social capital would hopefully lead to the creation of a
sustainable society that can harness Mai Khao’s unique cultural heritage and natural
environment for ecotourism in socio-economic development.
39
REFERENCES Phuket Hotel Market Update (2017)- https://www.c9hotelworks.com/downloads/phuket-
hotel-market-update-2017-02.pdf (Accessed on 8 Nov 2017) Tambon Mai Khao.
https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7, accessed 6 November 2017
Mai Khao. http://www.maikhaow.go.th/index.php?options=general2, accessed 7
November 2017 Mai Khao Beach. http://www.phuket.com/island/mai-khao-beach.htm#promo, accessed
8 November 2017 Ask Mai Khao Beach for Turtle (Again).
http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/news/detail/705991, accessed 8 November 2017
The Statistics Office of Phuket
http://phuket.nso.go.th/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373&Itemid=636, accessed 6 November 2017
Seek Phuket. (2013). Phuket Sustainability Indicator Report: Seeking a Sustainable
Phuket.https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/phuket_sustainability_indicator_report_22_nov_2013.pdf, accessed 7 November 2017
National Park Official Website. http://www.phuket.com/island/mai-khao-
beach.htm#promo, accessed 8 November 2017 Mai Khao Hotel. https://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?label=gen173nr-
1FCAEoggJCAlhYSDNiBW5vcmVmaHWIAQGYATG4AQfIAQzYAQHoAQH4AQKSAgF5qAID;sid=3905d4ef910b60e7cf1ce2e3777681d6;checkin_month=11&checkin_monthday=10&checkin_year=2017&checkout_month=11&checkout_monthday=11&checkout_year=2017&class_interval=1&dest_id=-3238779&dest_type=city&dtdisc=0&from_sf=1&group_adults=2&group_children=0&inac=0&index_postcard=0&label_click=undef&no_rooms=1&offset=0&postcard=0&raw_dest_type=city&room1=A%2CA&sb_price_type=total&search_selected=1&src=index&src_elem=sb&ss=Mai%20Khao%20Beach%2C%20%E2%80%8BPhuket%20Province%2C%20%E2%80%8BThailand&ss_all=0&ss_raw=mai%20khao&ssb=empty&sshis=0&, accessed 7 November 2017
OTOP: One Tambon One Product. http://www.thaitambon.com/tambon/830305,
accessed 8 November 2017
40
Litter Everywhere. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293920-d1149585-
r339133214-Mai_Khao_Beach-Phuket.html#REVIEWS, accessed 7 November 2017
Royal Thai Turtle Preservation. http://www.maikhaomarineturtlefoundation.org,
accessed 6 November 2017
41
APPENDIXES Table 4. Number of Hotel and Boutiques in Mai Khao
No. Hotel and Boutiques No. Room
1 Coriacea Boutique Resort 41
2 D Varee Mai Khao Beach 114
3 Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Mai Khao Beach Opens in new window
246
4 Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket Opens in new window
558
5 Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa Opens in new window
180
6 SALA Phuket Resort & Spa Opens in new window
79
7 JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa Opens in new window
21
8 Orchidilla Phuket Mai Khao Beach Houses Opens in new window
9
9 Maikhao Home Garden Bungalow Opens in new window
12
10
Holiday homes Micky Monkey Beach Hotel Opens in new window
12
11 Holiday home Maikhao Beach Guest House Opens in new window
3
12 Sai Kaew House Opens in new window
158
13 Phuket Campground Opens in new window
5
14 Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas Opens in new window
92
42
15 Marriott's Mai Khao Beach - Phuket Opens in new window
133
16 Maikhao Dream Villa Resort & Spa Phuket Opens in new window
22
17 Apartments Baan Mai Khao Opens in new window
35
18 Apartment Baan Mai Khao by Trumpproperty Opens in new window
1
19 Marriott's Phuket Beach Club Opens in new window
144
20 Villas Grand West Sands Villas Phuket Opens in new window
48
21
Apartments Baan Mai Khao 5 stars condominimum Opens in new window
2
22 Maikhao Palm Beach Resort Opens in new window
225
23
Apartment Baan Mai Khao at Mai Khao Beach Phuket Opens in new window
5
24 Villa vue su mer by Lofty
8
25 Ruankeaw homestay Opens in new window
2
26 Apartment Luxury Oceanfront Condominium Opens in new window
2
27 Maikhao boutique hostel Opens in new window
4
28 Villas Triple Three Maikhao Villas Opens in new window
4
Total Room 2,165
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Table 5. Project Operations Planning