PATTAYA, Thailand – Meliá Pattaya Hotel has joined forces with the local traditional Ban Amphur fishing community to help roll out environmentally and culturally-restorative initiatives, as part of Thailand’s largest sustainable community-based tourism project.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) new “Village to the World” project aims to strengthen the capacity of communities across the country to manage their resources effectively yet sustainably, in a bid to preserve culture in ways that boost tourism appeal and create lasting economic and environmental stability.
Meliá Pattaya Hotel, which opened on February 14 last year, and its owner, Thailand’s leading integrated lifestyle real estate group Asset World Corporation (AWC), are playing a key role to establish Village to the World in Pattaya, working closely with community representatives from Ban Amphor.
As part of the “Rak Talay Sane, Ban Amphur” campaign, which translates to “Protect The Sea, Love The Sea, Ban Amphur”, the hotel’s team has already made visits and conducted training to equip the community with culinary knowledge and skills. The team has taught food hygiene and safety, how to select high-quality hyper-local ingredients and reduce food waste through appropriate portioning and preparation, as well as skills for presenting food professionally.
Known for scenic Ban Amphur Beach overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, the Ban Amphur community is keen to promote its rich mangrove forest, canal that flows through the community, sacred Golden Shrine, and burgeoning community enterprises under a “tourism route”.
As part of blue swimmer crab conservation, and to harness local fishermen’s wisdom handed down the generations, the community endeavours to encourage tourists to visit a crab bank to learn about crab breeding and participate in activities to release crab hatchlings into nature. Ban Amphur is also focused on hosting creative workshops that teach tourists how to make sweets, mill rice with local know-how, and transform plastic waste into the likes of lanterns, plant pots, and coasters.
“Our hotel team feels honoured to engage in meaningful activities that are helping to make a lasting difference in our local community,” said Meliá Pattaya Hotel’s General Manager Javier Gimeno. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Ban Amphur community to help it benefit from tourism through protecting its stunning environment and preserving its culture.”
The community is the hotel’s preferred choice for MICE clients seeking meaningful experiences, with the concierge desk ready to recommend and offer any potential day-tour packages the community may wish to develop.
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