BANGKOK (PRWEB) July 23, 2019
SC Park Hotel, Bangkok, THAILAND VILLAGE ACADEMY, in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Promotion, Ministry of Culture, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thai Airways Company Limited, Thai Smile Airways Company Limited, Hello Local.travel and Readme.me, presents 44 young Story Creators from all over the world who will be visiting rural communities throughout Thailand to promote local culture and traditions as part of a competition to win 10,000 US.
MS. TASSACHON THEPGUMPANAT, Advisor of Department of Cultural Promotion said, “the Department of Cultural Promotion’s policy is to develop different community’s cultural learning points and leverage the cultural capital to create constructive social and economic value. The Department is therefore supporting the Thailand Village Academy project to enhance each community’s cultural learning points to become a wonderful world of Thai culture for foreign youths from all over the world. Communities with unique cultural, local wisdom and heritage, together with skilled community masters who are ready and willing to share their knowledge, have been chosen for the project. 22 pilot cultural communities have been selected, including: 7 located in Central Thailand, 5 in Northern Thailand, 5 in Southern Thailand and 5 in Northeastern Thailand.
Central Thailand
1. Sai Noi Homestay Ecotourism Village, Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya province
2. Tai Puan Cultural Tourism Community, Nakhon Nayok province
3. Tam Rong Sub-district Tourism Enterprise, Phetchaburi province
4. Ban Bang Plub Community, Samut Songkhram province
5. Ban Laem Sub-district, Suphanburi province
6. Nong Rong Sub-district, Kanchanaburi province
7. Sappaya Ancient Police Station Market Community, Sappaya district, Chainat province
Northern Thailand
8. Mueang Kao Sukhothai Community, Sukhothai province
9. Ban Ta Ma O Community, Lampang
10. Ban Nam Cham Community, Sankampaeng district, Chiang Mai province
11. Lor Yo Community, Chiang Rai province
12. Lao Vieng Cultural Tourism Community, Had Song Kwai district, Uttaradit province
Southern Thailand
13. Tung Wah Tourism Community, Satun province
14. Laem Sak Tourism Community, Krabi province
15. Ban Lam Kanoon, Trang province
16. Promloke Community Tourism Club, Nakorn Sri Thammarat province
17. Node Na Le Traditional Thai Farmer Village, Songkhla province
Northeastern Thailand
18.Ban Chiang Cultural Tourism Community, Udon Thani province
19.Ban Koke Mueang Community, Buriram province
20.Khemarat, Nawaeng, Jiad Community for Cultural Tourism, Ubon Ratchathani province
21.Ban Na Thon Tai Guan Cultural Tourism Community, Nakhon Phanom province
22.Ban Phu Cultural Tourism Community, Mukdahan province
Now that the initial phase to select pilot communities for Thai culture learning development is completed, the project is now being supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thai Airways Company Limited, Thai Smile Airways Company Limited, Hello Local.travel and Readme.me. This is to further expand the campaign by inviting youths around the world to visit these communities.
MS. THAPANEE KIATPHAIBOOL, Executive Directive of Tourism Product Department, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said, “Every community has a story, whether it is historical, cultural, or to do with local wisdom. It is very interesting, exciting and fascinating for foreign youths who love to travel the world to explore and learn about different cultures. They like to live like locals. They are key people who could help us spread the word about Thailand’s unique and charming culture and lifestyle.
Thailand Village Academy offers a chance for worldwide story curators and young travel bloggers to utilize their skills through social media to inspire people with travel stories, as well as to participate in the competition to win 10,000 US dollars. Out of 1,423 participants from 86 countries, 44 Finalists have been chosen from 17 countries, including India, the United Kingdom, Russia, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Bhutan, Israel, Italy, Ukraine, the Philippines, Indonesia Peru, Australia, Tunisia, Nigeria and Thailand, with the competition running from 24-29 July, 2019. The participant who presents the most interesting story online with the highest social media engagement will win a prize of 10,000 US dollars. The Winners and other runners up will be announced on 31st July on the website http://www.ThailandVillageAcademy.com
TAT is confident that all 44 story curators will create exciting and high-quality content that will inspire youths all over the world to travel and experience for themselves the wonderful world of Thai culture. You can follow the journey of all 44 story curators throughout the duration of the competition and support them through the Readme.me website via the following channels:
Thai bloggers’ creations: https://th.readme.me/campaign/the-village-story
Foreign bloggers’ creations: https://readme.me/campaign/the-village-story
MS. PREYANAN MONGKOLSRI, DIRECTOR Digital Marketing Department, Thai Airways (public) Company Limited said, “According to a study by the World Youth Tourism Organization, it is estimated that in 2020, there will be 370 million young travelers traveling for 50 days on average with an average budget of 2,600 US dollars or 85,000 baht. This shows that the foreign young traveler market is growing and becoming more important. This is a big opportunity for Thai communities to welcome youths from all over the world who will learn about the community cultures. It also supports the community economy and fosters a sustainable growth. Thai Airways and Thai Smile will support the project by offering special price air tickets for youths which will be part of the marketing plan for community travel packages.”
MS. TASSACHON THEPGUMPANAT, Advisor of Department of Cultural Promotion concluded that,
“The Thailand Village Academy project will enhance cultural learning points in the communities and develop cultural tourism selling points. The existing identity and cultural capital can be transformed into modern added value that suits each community’s context. More importantly, the community masters, who are considered living cultural capital and valuable community members, will receive admiration from their roles as local gurus sharing their experiences on valued local wisdom to the young travelers. The project will not only result in more income for the communities, but also wider exposure from the young foreign travelers. The stories of Thailand’s unique and charming culture and lifestyle will be spread all across the globe, bringing pride to these communities who own the cultural capital and building the determination to continue preserving the cultural heritage.”