Implementation period: May 2022 to April 2025 (3 years)
background purpose:
Krabi City, located 783 km south of Bangkok on the Andaman Sea, serves as the provincial capital, responsible for the economy, administration, and services of Krabi Province. While it has an international airport and tourism is its primary industry, its heavy reliance on beach resorts outside the city results in visitors bypassing the city, posing a challenge for tourism development within the city. Krabi City has a high demand for tourism and specialty product development, leveraging regional resources such as Andaman culture to realize its vision of becoming a "tourist city of art, culture, history, and ecotourism." Furthermore, the Regional Strategic Development Plan, compiled by the Thai local government every five years, aims to balance the economy with the environment and tourism. Leveraging the experience of Nago City, we will implement branding and product development for Krabi City. By gaining experience through branding, map creation, organizational development, and actual trials, we aim to establish a system for continuous product development.
Project evaluation:
<The importance of communication and goal setting>
Adequate communication was essential to building trust among project stakeholders. Problems in project implementation are often revealed through daily communication, and communication is the most effective way to resolve and prevent them, including issues arising from different languages, cultures, and customs. At the same time, it is important to set clear goals and activity plans. By thoroughly discussing and agreeing on the goals, outputs, activities, and schedule, and then starting the project with consensus, we were able to work with greater peace of mind and perspective. At the beginning of the project, the COVID-19 pandemic made travel between Nago City and Krabi City difficult. It took time to discuss and agree on the outputs and activities needed to achieve the project goals. After reaching an agreement through repeated discussions and revising the PDM, the goals and tasks were clearly defined, enabling the project to proceed smoothly.
<Regional revitalization through branding>
Through the project's activities, a great deal of information was collected about Krabi City's culture, traditions, religion, and food culture, and the distinctive features of Krabi City, such as its culture, art, and religion, became clear. By examining these features, the regional branding that characterizes Krabi City was strengthened. Now, as a brand for Krabi City, information can be disseminated to foreign visitors and tourists, and tourists' visits to the community contribute to the revitalization of the region, while also deepening the understanding of Krabi City among the officials involved. This means that this project played an important role in revitalizing the region and establishing the brand image of Krabi City.
<Comprehensive Sustainability of Nago City and Krabi City>
Krabi City hopes to apply for this project to be designated as an excellent business by the Thai central government. It is also hoped that the results of the project's survey analysis will be sustained and implemented in various departments of Krabi City Hall, such as welfare and environment departments. Nago City is also considering collaborating with Krabi City to develop specialty products with added value. In this way, the project's overall sustainability is high, even in the context of collaboration between the two cities after its completion.
