This manual is an output of an 18 month, EU funded project to improve the sustainability performance of SME suppliers in Thai-EU tourism supply chains. The manual was written by Mr. Peter Richards, Project Manager. The contents of the manual are the result of the work of the whole project team, during 18 months of meetings, discussions and workshops; and input from 200+ Thai tourism suppliers which contributed their ideas and energy to the project. This manual presents 20 Common Principles to Realize Sustainable Tourism, agreed following extensive discussion between over 200 representatives of 5 tourism supplier groups.
For each principle, the manual presents simple examples of how to put sustainable tourism into practice, proposed by suppliers during the project process. The aim is to prove that ‘any company can begin the journey towards sustainability.’ Although some of these initiatives require some funds or technical skills, many can be implemented cheaply and now. Because suppliers recognized that companies which do not provide good service cannot be sustainable, common principles also include issues such as safety, hygiene and innovation. The manual also showcases highlights of four Thai sustainable tourism routes which were developed during the project and provides an overview of the CSR-MAP project process.
