Community Based Tourism Institute

Placement organization

Name of organization: Community Based Tourism Institute
Town/city: Chiang Mai
Country: Thailand
Website: http://www.cbt-i.org / www.communitybasedtourism.wordpress.com

Student

Name of student: Laura Deppe

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: NGO
Organization’s activities: Facilitate Community based tourism research and development initiatives, facilitate cooperation among stakeholders to support CBT, act as a Thai community based tourism information center;
Provide community-based tourism training services.

Target group of the organization: No target group – work together with communities, tour operators, NGOs, government
Company culture: The atmosphere is very informal and familiar, the hierarchy is clear and everybody is respectful but still friendly. I was treated like a part of the CBT-I family.
Number of employees: 3 full-time + 7 part-time
Dress code: casual (but have to have knees and shoulders covered)
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? no, because in the placement offer it said that 50% of traveling costs will be paid by CBT-I but that only counts for transportation to field trips, not for your daily transportation to work

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Finances, Marketing, Field research. I worked in marketing
Brief description of your daily activities: Learn about community based tourism during field trips, collect information in the villages to prepare handbooks/texts for website etc., ITB Berlin preparation and follow up (prepare brochure/presentation, email communication with ITB contacts)
Brief description of your company assignment: Learn about community based tourism during field trips, collect information in the villages to prepare handbooks/texts for website etc., ITB Berlin preparation and follow up (prepare brochure/presentation, email communication with ITB contacts)
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Everybody is friendly and willing to help but you have to be able to work independently because everybody is busy and travels a lot and is not always at the office to answer your questions or give you assignments

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent because the staff doesn’t have much time to supervise you the whole time, flexible because plans often get changed, interested in cultures and local life because there will be a lot of field trips where you stay in rural villages for a few days for field research
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, PowerPoint, Excel, nothing special but if you have certain skills (like making movies, websites etc.) let them know and they will be happy to make use of it
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Learning some basic Thai phrases will make your life easier and the locals always appreciate if you try but it’s not required

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Myself. I stayed in two different guest houses.
How did you go to work every day? Sometimes by red car (the main public transportation) and for a while I rented a scooter together with another intern

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes (Make sure you get a multiple entry visa because you can only stay in Thailand for 3 months at a time and will have to leave the country and come back)
Do you need a work permit? No (I got an education visa and not a work visa because I didn’t get paid and it was part of my studies)
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I got my visa at the Thai embassy in Essen, Germany.You don’t need that many documents (you can check on the embassy website). CBT-I sent me a letter saying that I will be an intern there. Furthermore, you need to fill in the application form and bring some proof that you are a student (for me the NHTV student card was enough). Most of this you can get ready in a day but since CBT-I usually takes a while to reply and send things you should request the letter early enough.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? Only half an hour
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? I took a few lessons while I was in Chiang Mai

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 700,00
Accommodation (monthly): € 100,00 (first acco) en 150,00 (second acco)
Local transport (monthly): € red car 0,50/ride -> 20 EUR per month. Scooter rent EUR 75,00/month for one scooter
General costs of living (monthly): € 100,00
How long in advance did you apply for visa I already had them
Costs of visa: € 130,00
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Field trip expenses (Sometimes completely, sometimes partly depending on where you go)

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Reading
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Working is definitely different here. Everything is very relaxed, not very efficient and plans get changed a lot last minute. The language barrier is a problem sometimes and you don’t always know what’s going on which can be frustrating but just try to go with it and not worry about it and it will be okay.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 101841@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: There are some small rules, which need to be taken into consideration when going to Thailand such as: taking the shoes off when entering a house, covering your knees and shoulders in a temple and at work, not pointing your feet at someone or something, etc…It’s good to read about those cultural differences before coming to Thailand.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot to do and see in Chiang Mai: temples, national park and the waterfall, the lake, top of the hill “Doi Suthep” with the view of the city and the most famous temple of Chiang Mai, the Sunday night market with its handy-craft souvenirs, the local market with its various fruits, the night bazaar, the Saturday market, Thai boxing show, lots of cafés, bars, restaurants, “Songkran” water festival in April, etc…

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link