BANGKOK, 16 April 2015, Deputy Director of the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), Chuwit Mitrchob, has announced a campaign to produce a new generation of tour guides with expertise in Thailand’s world heritage sites.
Mr. Chuwit said the campaign is a joint effort of DASTA, Naresuan University, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adding that these new tour guides, once developed, would first be deployed at historical parks in Sukhothai Province’s Si Satchanalai District and in Kamphaeng Phet Province.
Mr. Chuwit said the cooperation came after UNESCO realized the potential of DASTA, saying the former recognizes the latter’s ability to manage the development of special tourism areas by integrating local participation. He stated the campaign would organize four seminars consisting of a workshop for tour guide trainers, and three seminars for the education of specialist tour guides.
The Deputy Director said 10 individuals qualified for the launch of the campaign, saying DASTA aims at providing tour guides for all three historical parks, upon the program’s completion.
Mr. Chuwit said that the project came about after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with UNESCO in fiscal year 2014. He added that the MOU seeks to create a curriculum to fully equip local people as qualified tour guides.
