When the Thai Hotel Association on Samui puts back into the community, it does so with total commitment.

Samui has hundreds of hotels and luxury resorts lining the beaches around the island. And they exist to provide every comfort a holidaymaker could possibly wish for. They’re businesses, and making money by delivering a great product and service is their priority. But behind the scenes there’re determined forces that are focused on strengthening links with the local community, being pro-active in environmental causes and achieving tangible results that benefit future generations of native Samuians.

Back in the early 1960s, the first chapter of the Thai Hotels Association (THA) was set up in Bangkok. Aimed initially at standardizing the quality of the rooms and services provided to early tourists, its membership has grown exponentially ever since. Today, many of the hotels on Samui belong to the THA’s Southern Chapter East Coast and their aims and objectives have changed with the times. Samui in particular has experienced rapid growth and the infrastructure of the island hasn’t always been able to keep pace.

By some distance, the tourism industry is the largest employer on the island and generates the most revenue. There’s little on the island that isn’t in some way reliant on the success of tourism. And it’s only right that the hotels should be supportive and influential in how the island lives and breathes. They have pledged themselves to several inter-connected projects. For instance, all of the member hotels are actively involved in utilizing Effective Microorganism (EM) technology. This involves recycling all hotel kitchen and garden waste into fertilizer and liquid EM can be safely used to clean septic tanks, toilets and floors. It not only results in cost savings, but also takes the pressure off the island’s waste disposal service.

They also work closely with the local authorities to help improve the overall tourist experience, take part with other groups, in beach clean-ups and contribute to many charitable events. There’s quite a number of organisations and associations on Samui that have taken a positive role in promoting and sustaining the island. Known as the ‘Green Island Project’, it has lots of different contributors but they all have the same final objective – a clean, healthy and sustainable island.

A good example of how they work together happened in March this year. A beach clean-up of the tiny neighbouring island of Koh Tan, off Samui’s southern coast, was organized. Past storms had taken their toll and the THA along with volunteers from the hotels, local schools, the Koh Tan Conservation Group, the local authorities, island residents and some visiting tourists made their way over to the island. All the flotsam and jetsam was collected and brought back for proper disposal and an EM ball was added to the island’s canal to help improve its quality.

Driving the THA’s ‘Green Committee’ is John Ens, the General Manager of Poppies Resort, in Chaweng. He’s been on the island for many years and has witnessed the challenges that Samui has gone through. “As the island became more and more popular it was inevitable that new hotels would be constructed and that also meant an increased amount of accommodation for all the people who have come to the island to work. And infrastructures that are easily put in place on the mainland aren’t as straightforward on an island.”

Over the years, a number of ways of disposing of refuse has been tried, such as landfills and incinerators. However, it soon became clear that new methods of reduction, recycling and conservation needed to be introduced. And to ensure sustainability, the members of the THA took it upon themselves to initiate a ‘Low Carbon School Program’. Over two years, they implemented the initiative in all of the 26 government-funded schools on the island which educate around 18,000 Thai children. Many of their parents work in the tourism industry, and in the hotels in particular. And with the support of the local authorities, subjects such as recycling, reducing, reusing, energy saving, water saving, water treatment and environmental awareness have been included into the schools’ curriculums. Each student is marked on the projects they undertake related to green issues and are actively encouraged to begin those projects in their homes and help educate their siblings and other family members.

It’s something of a first in Thailand and has attracted widespread interest from authorities across the Kingdom. Samui’s local government department responsible for schools now grants an additional 50,000 baht to each school for the projects. And each school has two sponsoring hotels that provide manpower, advice and tangible support.

Following on from this, in 2009, a ‘Green Fingers Club’ that comprised gardeners and landscapers from the hotels was established. They were already involved in projects specific to their locations and are instrumental in the EM and recycling processes. Supported by the Samui Mayor’s office and the THA, the club was given some land by the government to set up a nursery for growing indigenous trees on Samui. It’s also a centre for learning and development and the members are also closely involved with the school projects.

Several hotels on the island, such as Prana Beach Resorts & Spa in Bangrak, have their own hydroponic gardens and they teach the children how to make and maintain their own gardens in the schools which can provide vegetables and herbs for school lunches. Other resorts, such as Fair House Villas in Maenam, have extensive gardens and vegetable plots. And they give talks and tours to school groups about their green initiatives and how they can all take part both at home and at school.

Samui’s Thai Hotel Association members have admirably demonstrated their desire and commitment to a better future environment for visitors and for those who call the island home. Take a peek behind the scenes and ask what the hotel you’re staying at is doing. Are they proud to tell you about their endeavours and show you that they care about more than just profit? If so, then there’s a very good chance that they’ll really care about you.

Source: Johnny Peterson
            Samui Holiday Magazine