I had an idea about doing a study abroad trip to Thailand since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, the pandemic hit the world and delayed my study abroad Thailand plan until 2022. I have been working with Walailak University (WU) faculty on research for several years and in 2022 I was invited to visit WU when I was in Thailand in June. That’s when we resurrected our study abroad Thailand plan.

The theme for the study abroad Thailand program was about sustainable tourism and cultural experience in Thailand. In 2022, WU faculty and I published a research paper on how tourism businesses, non-profit organizations, and government offices in Thailand worked together during COVID and set the direction for sustainable tourism in Thailand after the COVID-19 pandemic (see the reference at the bottom of this article). To bring our research into the classroom, this study abroad program was designed to reflect what we found from our research and the future directions of tourism in Thailand.

Thailand is one of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide. The trend in Thailand right now is to move toward sustainable tourism, where tourists make minimal impact on the environment when they visit Thailand. Thus, during this Study Abroad Thailand program, the students explored the beauty of the Southern part of Thailand – Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat (NST) province – as well as learned about sustainable tourism. They also participated in many net zero carbon tourist activities such as a tie-dye workshop where the dye was made from a natural ingredient, eco kayaking, a Thai dessert class, and an eco-print workshop. They also learned about how hotels in Krabi created a travel package that focuses on sustainability and wellness to attract international tourists.

Most importantly, the UA students get to make an impact at the international level. They worked with WU students on a project to propose a marketing plan to help NST attract international tourists and compete with its competitors who are more well-known among international tourists such as Phuket, Krabi, and Bangkok. On the last day, the students gave a presentation to NST Chamber of Commerce and WU dean and faculty. The client was impressed with their recommendations and planned to propose some of the ideas to the Mayor of NST to increase international tourists. Hopefully, we will see some of the ideas being executed very soon.

The students in this program had an opportunity to immerse themselves in a real cross-cultural experience. The UA students had to interact and work with Thai students in a cross-cultural team where they learned that cultural differences do exist. The students had to get over the language barriers and deal with the differences in working styles between Americans and Thais. Over the past 2 weeks, many memories and lifelong friendships were created.

From Matilyn Tewell’s, a 4^th-year marketing student, LinkedIn post:

“Over the past couple of weeks, I was able to join Sydney Chinchanachokchai on her study abroad course in Thailand. During this time we had the opportunity to travel to places like Bangkok and Krabi, but we spent most of our time in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Nakhon Si Thammarat is a province in Thailand that has plenty to offer and would like to increase their tourism as right now there is little to none. Our task on this trip was to create and discover ideas that this province could implement in the short term and the long term.

During this project, we got to work with students from a local university. This helped us to learn how to work cross-culturally, push passed language barriers and so much more.

We then presented our ideas to the Dean of Walailak School of Management, a few professors, and the Chamber of Commerce. In this presentation, my team placed First overall which I was extremely thrilled about. This was such an amazing experience from beginning to end. I gained so much knowledge in the short two weeks I spent in Thailand. Being fully immersed in the culture and working with others at an international level helped me understand and appreciate my studies in Marketing on a whole new level.”

As a faculty leader and program director of this study abroad program, I am very satisfied with the outcomes of the program. As a cross-cultural researcher who has studied cultural differences and lived in many countries around the world throughout my life, I realize the importance of international business and that the best way to learn about any culture or language is to interact with the locals. As a teacher, I know from many years of teaching that the best way for students to learn is to be able to apply their knowledge in a real-life project. Through this high-impact practice project, the UA students did not only get to apply what they learned in class in a real-life project but they also helped NST Chamber of Commerce come up with ideas to attract international tourists, which may lead to an increase in the city’s revenue and improved economy in the long run.

Many students have told me that this was one of the best experiences they have had at the University of Akron and I believe it is true!

Reference:

Pongsakornrungsilp, P., Pongsakornrungsilp, S., Jansom, A., & Chinchanachokchai, S. (2022). Rethinking Sustainable Tourism Management: Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic to Co-Create Future of Krabi Tourism, Thailand. Sustainability, 14(18), 11375. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811375