Student backpackers and gap year students are among the groups being targeted in plans to introduce community tourism programmes in Thailand.
Due to be piloted by Thai and UK tour operators next year, ten sites will be selected by operators in March 2008 before the launch of the programme in the summer.
Thailand has long been a popular destination for gap-year and student backpackers, offering cheap accommodation and low-budget eating as well as a wealth of cultural attractions.
But unlike a great many tours, these projects, run by the Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I), conform to the Tourism Authority of Thailand's eco-tourism policy.
Peter Richards, marketing support and development coordinator of the CBT-I, told the Bangkok Post that its teams had worked on over 70 such projects worldwide.
As such, both student backpackers and the local communities involved in the scheme can expect to be in safe hands during the visits.
The CBT-I team have a ten-year history of supporting sustainable tourism which encourages community development and conservation.
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