Thailand: Ladies’ choice

By KAREN EMMONS

IN her 10 visits to Thailand, Yvonne Strömberg once came specifically to buy eye glasses. Another time she had a facelift. Typically, though, she comes to relax in the northern hills around Chiangmai with Thai friends she had met during earlier trips. The warm weather and peacefulness, combined with the value for money and the security the university professor feels coming here on her own, have made Thailand her favorite tourist destination. 

She is not alone. Some 64 percent of visitors to Thailand have been here before. And women travelers are an increasing proportion of all visitors.

“In Thailand I can afford to stay in good hotels, have good food and buy things that are very expensive in Sweden,” says Strömberg. ”It is very easy and safe for women to travel in Thailand.”

Expat women living in Bangkok are seeing an influx of other working women coming repeatedly from within the region and farther afield to “chill out” and recharge spiritually. Some who come have high-powered jobs and want to relax or enjoy a work bonus. Some also come after the breakup of a relationship and feel the need to “find themselves” again. Many combine an excursion of medical checkups, good eating, fun shopping and a special event, such as a textile exhibition or special sale.

Equally attractive are the options for “real” cultural experiences, such as visits to weaving or hill-tribe villages. These are particularly favored by first-time female visitors who want to immerse themselves in Thai culture. 

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, marketing campaigns targeting female travelers and families have led to record increases in arrivals in these niche-market categories. Of the total 13.8 million arrivals in 2006, a record 5.6 million were females.

Lots of women say Thailand is the perfect place for women. It still appeals to backpackers but increasingly is also attracting the environmentally concerned and conscientious aesthetes looking to engage with communities in a helpful and educational way. There are also the well-heeled ladies who desire extremely luxurious pampering. And Thailand beckons refined adventurers who want to trek across hilltops to remote jungle villages but re-emerge to a rose-petal bath and traditional herbal massage.

“Thailand is comfortable, easy and convenient,” says Jane Puranananda, a long-time American expat in Bangkok.

Many tour operators are waking up to the female traveler trend. Andaman Discoveries, which received the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award for Best Conservation of Cultural Heritage and which was runnerup for Wild Asia’s annual Responsible Tourism Award for community or family-run homestays, offers one- to five-day tours. The company focuses on volunteer, educational, family and female interest tours.

“At the end of just a day, I understood more about Thailand than in four weeks of backpacking and staying in guesthouses,” writes Helen of her Andaman Discoveries homestay experience on the company’s website. “We traveled to and from obscure piers that the average tourist would never know were there. We got to try out driving the long-tail boat, visited (the village) temple, met members of the Moken tribe who talked about traditions dying and surviving among them. We learned about the role of the chief, their fishing economy, how to make squid traps and an unusual community drive for conserving endangered animals and ecosystems. I feel privileged to have seen behind the scenes in Thailand.”

Another tour operator, Phu Phiang, offers crafts and culture journeys that are tailor-made for specific interests. Many of its female clients—and some males, too—have spent time in craftspeople’s villages actually learning skills such as weaving and embroidery with the Mien hill tribe.

“I enjoyed the sightseeing just as much as the spinning and weaving activities. A great variety—preparation, spinning, dyeing, weaving and back strap weaving,” wrote a Canadian client on the Phu Phiang website.

Phu Phiang has tie-ups with craft communities that produce weaving, baskets, jewellery, hand-made paper, embroidery, pottery and other things sold in the very popular ThaiCraft Association monthly sale in Bangkok. Itineraries can include hands-on workshops, craft training, in-depth lectures and demonstrations from recognized specialists. There are also visits to religious and historical sites.

The Thanatharee (“Treasure on the Water”) is a 21-meter rice barge offering comfortable accommodation for two- and three-day cruises on the Chao Phraya River between Bangkok and the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. Passengers can sample the traditional ways of life of rural communities, sometimes using bicycles to explore out-of-the-way villages or local markets and festivals.

Suan Thip, a house devoted to Thai culture near the Chao Phraya River, has developed cultural programs on cooking and flower arranging. It also lays on river tours to historical sites and master artisans, such as the potters at Koh Kred. There is also an upscale homestay experience in a traditional Thai teak house surrounded by fruit trees and built by craftsmen in a style popular in the Ayutthaya region of central Thailand some 150 years ago.—TATnews