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Towards another Thailand… A green Thailand, a true Thailand

For many people across the world, Thailand is the perfect icon of an ideal holidays’ destination; A dream destination welcoming each year millions of visitors... The ‘Country of Smiles’ is famous for its shopping possibilities, for its unique beaches, its tasty cuisine, entertainment, lush nature and a wide spectrum of activities.

However, if Thailand is for many a holidays’ destination, it is first and foremost a rural country, populated by an impressive diversity of people from different ethnic origins. Most of Thai citizen live far from cities and from the western way of life. They live in their village, in harmony with their environment and their traditions as they mainly follow a model of existence inspired by auto-sufficiency.

This ‘green’ page features programs and alternative stays, for responsible tourists willing to travel differently… You will find namely:
     - Community Based Tourism (CBT)
     - Green initiatives, namely reforestation programs
     - A selection of so called ‘eco lodges’ or rather approaching this concept
     - Home stays with local activities
     - Social stays with humanitarian activities (teaching, etc…)
     - Excursions without emission of CO² (programs with bicycle, etc.)
     - Several days programs with limited emission of CO² (use of public transportation instead of private vehicle)
     - …

Several communities have developed since a while, welcoming structures for local tourists. Some of these structures are now accessible to foreigner visitors. Since the very simple ‘home stay’ up to the stay in ethic community, with or without activities, possibilities are multiple.

One can stay in Elephant farms, among hill tribes in Northern Mountains, with fishermen in the Southern Seas… Unknown or not frequently visited regions start opening to foreigner tourists willing to get acquainted with locals, to discover their culture and share a moment of their life… These possibilities meet a frank success among western tourists willing to travel alternatively, to share daily habits of the countries they discover under a new eye, curious, respectful of the other and respectful of other’s traditions and environment.

Many fields, gardens, orchards spread all over the country are being cultivated organically or biologically, without use of chemicals. This natural way of cultivating hasn’t evolved much since centuries. What has been recently rediscovered in many western countries and has become ‘fashionable agriculture’ is here usual since the mists of times.

The Gulf of Thailand is subject to tides that here and there wear the cost away. In some places, protecting mangrove has withdrawn, exposing dry land to damaging assaults of the waves. Some ethnic tribes in the Northern territories still cut and burn parcels of the forest in order to make land available for agriculture. These archaic processes jeopardize green areas and impoverish soils.

Initiatives in afforesting have been launched both in mangroves along the damaged costs or in some mountain forests zones. It is from now on possible for foreign tourists to join their efforts to those of Thai people who are concerned by these problems. Welcoming structures exist for foreign visitors willing to get associated to these initiatives.

NS.TRAVEL has added to the ‘green’ activities mentioned here above, a selection of so called ‘eco lodges’. In Thailand, ‘eco lodges’ are not yet to compare with some of those existing in developed countries. This trend is already well understood and developed in the West, whereas it is still in its infancy in South East Asia. Progresses are been made though, and if ‘eco accommodation’ in Thailand still must evolve, the existing ‘eco lodges’ have at least the merit of going in the good direction and acting more respectfully towards the nature (solar energy, treatment of waste water, etc.)

We also include under this page, social initiatives, mainly in the field of education. We keep a close relationship with schools cruelly lacking means, both in material or manpower… Programs of teaching English to less provided schools in remote areas are also possible. Such programs are based on case by case requests, according to needs of both, schools or foreign candidates (individuals or groups).

Finally, we innovate and launch new concepts, inspired by car-sharing system for the daily transportation of employees and workers in some developed countries. We have redesigned some of our existing programs, by using solely public transportation and expert escorting guides. Those among our customers choosing for these programs, stay in permanent contact with daily reality of locals, discover the genuine way of life of Thai common people and save money of costing private transportation. Furthermore, these programs do not generate (or insignificantly) additional CO² emission.

We call these programs in memory of the action day for environment organized in 181 countries on the 24 of October in 2009 during the Copenhagen Climate Conference.

Furthermore, we also promote half or full day excursions either biking, or walking or using public transportation. We recommend these initiatives when feasible, rather than excursions using private vehicle.

NS.TRAVEL is indubitably of the Thai pioneers on the field of community based tourism, ecotourism and agro tourism

Thirty years ago, we were the first in organizing visits to the Northern provinces, and namely to the ‘Royal Projects’ as Doi Angkhan.

Today, we are certainly not the only ones promoting this kind of tourism. Many companies prospect this promising new ‘promising niches’. But one thing is sure, we don’t promote ‘green’ tourism because it might generate yield. We do so because it put forwards our country at its best and our people in its very nature: its ‘rurality’. We also promote it because we ought to encourage all kind of initiatives aiming to keep Thai environment as it is or even better, as it always should have been.