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Fair Tourism as Guest Speaker
Fleur van der Neut Bachelor student at BUas / WUR
“I would like to thank you again for the inspiring lecture you gave us yesterday. It is very clear that you are very passionate about this topic. I think this is a very interesting subject and organization. I would therefore like to stay in touch with you, also about the working group. And I know I have another year left, but I would also really enjoy doing my thesis at Fair Tourism! ”
Inge Gijsbers Senior lecturer Sustainable Tourism Management at Saxion University
“Charlotte is an excellent guest speaker and knows how to inspire our tourism management students with her drive, passion and enthusiasm. An added value to any programme on how to travel responsibly with mutual respect for local traditions keeping in mind the cultural contexts.”
Brigitte Nitsch Senior lecturer Sustainable Tourism at Stenden University
“The Tourism Management program of NHL Stenden in Leeuwarden has received guest lectures of Fair Tourism already for several years. Also students have been engaged in doing research for raising attention for the Kayan and community based tourism, in the Netherlands and in Thailand. As always these guest lectures are inspiring students and lecturers at Bachelor and Master level. Learning which relates tourism to the SDG’s, inclusivity and poverty reduction. It has led to interesting discussions and perspectives on community tourism and tourism development in general. Thank you very much for this.”
Interns, Volunteers and Thesis Students
Haruna Chinzei Former Intern
“Internship at Fair Tourism was a great opportunity for me to learn how CBT concepts are actually practiced in the real settings. Projects we work on with Huay Pu Keng village are very dynamic and creative, and working with a highly motivated team gave me a lot of inspiration and encouraged my learning process.”
Saranyu Laemlak Former intern
“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a diverse and experienced group of colleagues at Fair Tourism Foundation. I was able to not only learn about community-based tourism in Thailand from a different perspective but was able to change my attitude towards community-based tourism. I used to hesitate on a transition towards CBT among various communities. Now, I discovered myself that I am interested in the CBT project in Huay Pu Keng, Mae Hong Son, Thailand. ”
Sina Aline Schmidt Former Volunteer
“As a volunteer for Fair Tourism it is great to work with a lot of different people and organisations together. I really like to make a difference concerning community-based tourism.”
Nikkie Visser Former Volunteer and Thesis Student
”In September 2017, Charlotte gave a guest lecture to my class at Inholland University of Applied Sciences. The guest lecture was about the Kayan in Huay Pu Keng. I thought this was an interesting topic, which is why I immediately sent Charlotte an email to ask about thesis opportunities. I soon received an enthusiastic email back saying that Charlotte thought it would be great if I started writing my thesis for Fair Tourism. In February 2018 I started my thesis, I made an appointment with Charlotte a few times to properly arrive at the problem and goal of the research. For about a month I did field research in Thailand. How wonderful it was to be part of a different culture for a long time. It was a special experience. After successfully completing my thesis, Charlotte asked me to volunteer for Fair Tourism, which I immediately said yes to. The voluntary work consisted of guiding students in writing their thesis, giving guest lectures and writing informative texts for the website. I did the volunteer work until May 2020, after which I got busy with work and started the master in Tourism, Society and Environment at the end of August at the University of Wageningen”.
Mahendra Sherkane Volunteer
“As a student who was seeking for a precise leadership and work which brings joy to the heart, I was delighted to work as an Intern at Fair Tourism Foundation. Bringing the ideas together as a comparatively new team, to work on a purposeful situation, learning pragmatic skills for life, to bring about a paramount transformation in the lives of indigenous communities felt satisfying. I hope more organisations allow students to explore their strengths, as I could with a team from diverse cultures. “Even if I don’t receive monetary gains, I would choose a supervisor like Charlotte every single time because we, as a team, believe in something beyond ourselves.”
Celina Sczyslo Volunteer
"Charlotte, I want to say thank you for being such a supportive team leader, I think everybody would agree with me that we all are happy to assist you with spreading this important message of Fair Tourism! You really make everybody feel appreciated and valuable for the organization and that is definitely not to be taken for granted. So thank you for providing me with this opportunity, even though I cannot be as active as I was before right now, I am so happy to be part of this amazing team and have you as an inspiration."
Melanie Franssens Intern and Thesis Student
"I work for Fair Tourism as an intern three days per week. I am still quite new here, but it doesn’t feel like that at all. Right from the beginning of my internship here, I got tasks assigned which require responsibility. Knowing that my work will help the tourism industry become more sustainable, even if it is just a little bit, makes me proud and determined to work hard. The enthusiasm of all the students, volunteers and the director Charlotte herself as well, makes Fair Tourism a really nice place to work at. Besides that, Fair Tourism has a working environment in which you are really free to come up with creative ideas and solutions yourself, which makes working for Fair Tourism very fulfilling!"
Myrthe Koster Volunteer
"I collaborated with Fair Tourism for one of my courses, to set up a development project in Huay Pu Keng. When this ended after one semester, I was given the opportunity to work as an intern for Fair Tourism. Now half a year later, I have learned so much about promotion, marketing, communication, sustainability, tourism, etc. By working in an international team with students from all kinds of different backgrounds (e.g. study-wise), one learns a lot of new perspectives and insights into topics that might previously have been unknown to you. Next to working in a team, the director Charlotte, also provides enough opportunities for you to use your own skills and to develop and grow at the individual level as well. It is fun to be able to come up with creative problems and solutions within the field of sustainable tourism, and to apply these in real life!"
Do you also want to become an intern or write your thesis at Fair Tourism? Click here for the possibilities!
Experiences in Huay Pu Keng
Raphael Ansart Travelinspector for Fox Reisen
“I was lucky enough to visit Huay Phu Keng village in November 2019, so just before Thailand would enter a long lockdown period because of the new coronavirus. You reach the village by boat. The boat trip itself is already a unique experience as you go deeper and deeper through the jungle while enjoying the beautiful scenery on the banks of the river. Once you reach the village the friendly villagers welcome you on the banks of the river. After climbing a couple of meters up you arrive on the main street of the village where you can immediately see several women with rings around their neck in their houses; the so called ‘long necks’. I recommend you to take enough time to stroll through the village to soak up the atmosphere. At the top of the village you can find the village school which is definitely worth the visit. Walking through the village you will also meet several smiling kids playing around. You can also walk down a little path to a field where you will find back several ‘totem poles’ which are being used during local ceremonies. This way you get to learn more about the unique Kayan culture. The highlight for me however was joining a workshop in the village during which I made a cup made out of bamboo. With the help of the skilled villagers you go through the whole process to make the bamboo cup by yourself. In the end you made a nice souvenir which you can take home. This made my visit to this village very unique because it’s not only about quickly making a couple of pictures. You have the opportunity to join a nice activity organized by the villagers. I also decided to have lunch on spot at one of the village homes. A simple but oh so delicious meal! After about 3 hrs I left the village again by boat. You leave the village behind with not only beautiful pictures, but also great memories! You have been able to make contact with several villagers in a casual way and you made a unique souvenir that you can bring home. I can highly recommend a visit to this village as you can be sure you contribute in a responsible way to sustainable tourism. You know your money is going straight to the community and by doing this you contribute to the development of the village while they can maintain their unique culture.”
Jasmijn Grundel Former employee at Better Places
“We have done a workshop making a bracelet during our visit to Huay Pu Keng. During this workshop you really connect to the people living there. They are open for contact and love to talk about their daily life. Most of the people were gone getting food during our stay. But they did everything to make the workshop happen! After the workshop we had a delicious local lunch. For a real and local experience I really recommend one of the workshops!”
Partners
Keeley Warren Founder and Editor of Wanderlust with a Purpose and Founder of Mankind Digital.
website"Charlotte and I connected through our passion for the tourism sector and our shared vision for an industry that offers more responsible tourism experiences, services and initiatives to both travellers and local communities. We have since collaborated on creating a number of articles that promote community-based tourism and responsible travel, including the publication of an article written by Fair Tourism for the Wanderlust with a Purpose website that explores how community-based tourism can enhance gender equality. Thank you, Charlotte and the entire team at Fair Tourism Foundation, for your continued support and for your dedication to spreading an awareness of the benefits community-based tourism can offer."