Potjana Suansri, Director, The Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I)

Ms. Potjana Suansri has dedicated herself tirelessly to the task of community empowerment. She has strived with single-minded determination to bring the struggles and successes of Thailand’s rural communities to the attention of Thailand’s urban and middle classes. Her work has built the knowledge, skills and confidence of local Thai people to define, direct and benefit from development.

Ms. Suansri is recognised as Thailand’s foremost pioneer of community-based tourism (CBT). Her work over the past 15 years has lead to greater recognition of the importance of local community participation in sustainable rural tourism development, and provided multiple innovative tools to realise this in practice.

Ms. Suansri’s work has influenced CBT development at local, national, regional and international levels, benefiting a spectrum of stakeholders including communities, businesses, academics, and development practitioners. She is a valued resource person for government and NGO’s inside and outside Thailand.