Creative tourism is an industry with high potential which can generate income and improve the quality of life nation-wide with sustainability

Developing creative tourism is a priority in Thai government’s policies. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports creates a leading plan of information and communication technology for 2015-2019, which focuses on enhancing the competence of competitive service businesses with potential to be creative businesses by supporting research and development to encourage innovation for businesses. The plan also promotes the use of new knowledge and technology in developing goods and services along with supporting investment in potential service businesses.

Chulalongkorn University’s Research Project on Development of Creative Tourism is an integrated and interdisciplinary research mission combining knowledge and expertise from science, social and humanity sciences. Supported by the Academic Development Plan Program, this project has been an implementation of Chulalongkorn University’s policies to play an important role in Thailand’s sustainable development.

Researchers in this research project consist of 90 experts and graduate students from 11 faculties/institutes in Chulalongkorn University and several associate foreign researchers. The project comprises of two main areas which are “Development of Creative Tourism: Nan Province” and “Development of Creative Tourism for Multicultural Social: the Andaman Region”. The Nan branch works on the possibilities of developing routes and products based on nature, health, culture, agriculture, logistics, public relations, geography, and tourism management.

The Andaman branch has focused its research on culture and history of Chao Lay (sea nomads), displaced Thais in Myanmar, ethnic groups in Myeik (port town in Myanmar), logistics for tourism in the Thai-Myanmar Andaman region, and communication between communities and tourists.

The outcomes of the whole project will appear as:

1. suggested tourist routes with respect to nature, culture, health, environment and local living quality and local wisdom;
2. improved communication and understanding between local and external stakeholders on creative tourism; and
3. high-quality training program in creative tourism.

The creative tourism development activities are still ongoing. Among 2020-2021, Chulalongkorn University has developed many activities and projects including international academic conferences, new creative tourism routes and bringing innovations to enhance the capacity of the community.

Hosting the International Conference on Creative Tourism and Development:

Creativity, Connectivity and Sustainability in ASEAN on 6-7 Feburary 2020 at Chulalongkorn University.

This has received various interests from the tourism industry and has invited Greg Richards, which is the founder of the term “Creative tourism”. He was the one who expanded on the term creative tourism and has given advices for potential research in the future.

In the event, there are group discussions on development of creative tourism  from community, tourism agencies, business tourism, as well as government officials from ASEAN. The participants can also visit booths that sells local products and can participate in events.

There are tremedous interest holders as there are various knowledge interms of the dimensions in travelling such as infrastructure, facilities and effeciency in traveling, foreigners care, and products involved with travelling. This is considered the first conference regarding creative tourism.

Developing processes of Creative Tourism in Nan Province on April-September 2021

Reporting on project development since April 2021, the project has developed under framework, goals, and measurement to allow successful plan implementation. This can be summarized as followed 

1. New route under lifestyle products, historical, health products, and agricultural-coffee
2. Network from travelling agencies, educational agencies, and locals and foreign personnels.
3. Information from geographical, economical, societal, and cultural perspective to measure communications that as quality to develop into creative tourism by using the secondary data and the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) to seek for strengths and weakness as well as field search.
4. New thinking framework for creative tourism
5. Products that derives from learning and developed by researchers that lead to new innovation from cocoa waste to use as dye and natural dyes
6. Develop and design website “www.creativejourneyth.com”
7. Drive the development of basic infrastructure of logistics and transportation of travellers in provincial plans in both areas. Nan province has used this plan to develop its own transportation
8. Kit for tourism management for handling foreigners in Nan
9. Kit for teaching the local guide
10. Kit for historical travelling on the royal dynasty “Tin” in Nan Province which has divided into 5 chapters and in the process of testing
11. Plans of developing products from herb as massage oils
12. Create a department for local development coordination to solve for problems and ensure success under the geography and geospatial research unit
13. Business development plan for processed herbal products “Healthy Massage Oil”
14. Establish a monitoring unit for pilot area.
15. Opening MOOCs courses regarding to creative tourism on CU MOOC platform
16. “Creative tourism” content creation
17. Develop website “www.creativejourneyth.com”
18. Creation and editing of mini projects, upload onto website to broadcast

Creating new tourism routes

Moreover the project has researched on 9 tourism route both in Nan and in Andaman such as 

1. The historical tourism route, Nan Province (Chao Fah – Rak Boon – Rak Sin – Ral Lui)
2. The health tourism route and the handicraft tourism route, Nan Province
3. The agro-tourism route, Nan province (Local Coffee tourism route and Maniphruek community tourism route)
4. The textile tourism route, Nan Province
5. The Andaman pier tourism route on Jum Islands, Krabi Province
6. The seafood tourism route (Ban Thung Noi Community), Prachuap Khiri Khan Province
7. The multicultural tourism route (Susuk Cultural Street), Prachuap Khiri Khan Province
8. The historical and multicultural tourism routes (Ban Hin Chang Community), Ranong Province
9. The city tourism route (Kanthi Islands Community – Ruang Rat Road), Ranong Province

Public can visit the project via www.creativejourneyth.com  and FB: Chula Creative Tourism

Bringing innovations to enhance the capacity of the community.

The creative tourism project has been give support from Chulalongkorn university that has a project duration of 3 years, which begins in since Febuary 2019 and will end in January 2022. The project is aiming to find funding from outside sources that support research funding of economic development that has impacted from COVID-19. Since June 2020, the mini project has given research project to asks for support from outside funding organizations to further contribute to development of creative tourism under “The Recovery Program for economy and social on post COVID-19 era” and all related funds. The projects are as followed :

1. The project of digital technology deployment for upgrading creative tourism in Nan Province
2. The project of transportation development for creative tourism in Nan province, the expansion of different sources in local marketing projects relating to tourism and agriculture of Nan parallel with the new ways of life.
3. The project of learning model development and innovations of economical valued functional beverage in local community. 
4. The project of local communities’ competencies elevation through creative tourism development innovations.

For more information, please visit: https://cucreativetourismias.wordpress.com

Previous related articles:

• http://www.sustainability.chula.ac.th/report/485/

Related articles:

• https://cucreativetourismias.wordpress.com/2020/01/20/international-conference-on-creative-tourism-and-development/
• https://www.creativejourneyth.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/DASTATHAILAND/photos/a.176302835756153/2545036865549393/?type=3