The Integrated Learning of Community-based Tourism in Thailand

Abstract

This paper presents an initial effort to evaluate college students’ understanding of the concept of community-based tourism (CBT) based on integrated learning. In particular, it examines the perceptions of students towards the components of traditional classroom-lectures, fieldtrips, fieldworks and also business plan proposals from the students for distinctive community-based tourism destinations. Forty eight questionnaires will be distributed among the 4th year students of the International College for Sustainability Studies, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand that undertook the course in the second semester of 2012. Data analysis is to be processed by statistical programme software and accordingly categorised into groups of data by thematic analysis. The findings revealed that students had a high satisfaction of integrated learning of CBT as are provide a holistic understanding of community-based tourism from the principles and practices based on integrated learning, as they need to study the theories and principles in the classroom, observe and survey by fieldtrips and fieldwork and practice the development of business plans for community-based tourism destinations through group work. The paper finishes with a concluding discussion and implications for future research and practitioners.