Ecotoerisme - Universiteit Utrecht

At Golden Buddha Beach Resort we have lived and breathed ecological and communitysensitive hospitality for the last 17 years; initially as much by necessity as by design. Locatedon a remote island with no electric mains, no scheduled boat service and the only villagewithin one hour engaged in low intensity fishing and some cashew nut and coconutgrowing. We have a period of 6 months with little rain and a lot of sunshine that bringsstrong interest from international visitors followed by 6 months of the southwest monsoonwith lots of rain and storms. These characteristics lead Lost Horizon Resort Co. Ltd., thedeveloper of GBBR to use simple, low impact construction for the company’s buildings andall residences. The luxury had to be provided nature, not man. Buildings were spaced apartand permitted to comprise no more than 12.5% of any one rai plot. Building heights wererestricted to maintain the spacious feel and emphasize the surrounding rain forests. Allbuildings were constructed predominantly with plantation sourced tropical hardwoods usinglocal Thai craftsmen. As all power has to be generated on sight, it was obvious that biggenerators and daily transport of large quantities of fuel were going to be both expensiveand wasteful. Thus, Dick Sandler and his colleagues ruled out the use of air conditioning andhot water showers. This policy continues to this day.GBBR hires locally where ever possible. While this might seem altruistic, it is practical andnecessary. Who else knows how the island’s community life works? What is acceptable andwhat is not? Furthermore, most people on the mainland think it is a bit peculiar to live insuch an isolated environment with few urban conveniences. Currently all the staff at GBBRare from Thailand and 90% are from the island or the nearby coastal villages. In addition,where services are available by local businesses, large or small, we use local. The head ofthe island’s Tapayoi village provides all boat service to and from the resort using energyefficient longtail boats powered by 14 hp engines. Small business operators in Kuraburitown provide ground transportation services for our guests. The closest accountant is inTakuapa and we use her services which have been most satisfactory. It is a symbioticrelationship. We help each other and all benefit.Yet simply hiring local does not mean one is building sustainable tourism on our island, KhoPhra Thong. It takes a lot more. All of our staff are paid above the legal minimum (mostsubstantially so) and we pay their taxes and social insurance. They all get paid legal holidaysand vacation pay. Unlike many Thai hotel operators, we try to provide year around20