SCOPE?Charters. Sustainable Community Owned Professional Eco?Charters. Edited by TAW, Chiang Mai, December 2006. ISBN 978 974 8818979

‘SCOPE-Charters –an alternative ownership and management model in the tourism sector’ are the first publication of TAW to focus on conceptual issues.The post Tsunami recovery and reconstruction process has been an enormous challenge for impacted local communities, while at the same time offering an opportunity to rebuild, develop and improve social, economic, political and administrative structures.Three years after the Tsunami, the immediate recovery period has come to an end and the long-term recovery stage is beginning. Since a high degree of ‘normalcy’ has been achieved again many outside investors have found tourism business opportunities increasing once again. The experience of the Tsunami has also sharpened awareness on environmental issues and concerns. But recovered communities, restored micro-economies and eco-tourism do not necessarily provide true sustainability.Because after the Tsunami, we have seen that there are plenty of organizations that provided helps to the affected communities to rehabilitate both livelihoods and social conditions. But the economic recovery or improvement for the affected communities has hardly been discussed or emphasized.       

One way to potentially break a cycle of successful recovery followed by outside investors establishing their own businesses is to create the economic opportunity for the communities to become investors themselves. Or, in other words, enable the community to own the business and outsource the daily management and operation tasks; just like an outside investor would do. This also includes the business strategy of outsourcing to professionals and hiring on the labour market; contrary to trying to turn fisher folk into managers.

SCOPE charters represents a concept that encourages the affected communities to be the owners of a tourism business. Normally for the affected communities this opportunity is quite difficult to get because the communities would be able to participate in such business only under fair and equal opportunities. So it required to improve affected communities’ position in tourism value chain.

The SCOPE-charters model will give benefits to both the tourism sector and the Tsunami affected communities, in this case Bahn Nahm Khem Phang Nga province and Bahn Koh Muk Trang province. The two communities are considered good choices for initiating this environmentally friendly and project aimed as achieving sustainable development. If SCOPE charters accomplishes its goals in these communities, the model can be used as a blueprint for other settings that have the similar potentials and resources.

Download the PDF file ......... >>

Exit