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Introduction
Maekok River Village Resort & Track of the Tiger Tours
Track of the Tiger Tours was established in 1986 and pioneered
'soft adventure tourism' to northern Thailand at a time when the
options were limited to either 'hill tribe trekking' or 'sightseeing
by minibus'.
The company also introduced the concept of the 'Adventure Tour
Base' to northern Thailand by building the Maekok River Lodge in
the small village of Ban Thaton - at the heart of our operational
area.
More recently, in order to meet the demands of the changing market,
we have built the delightful Maekok River Village Resort, Ban Thaton's
first 4-star property.
Over the past 15 years we have witnessed the evolution of tourism
in the north. Those in their 20's to 30's still want hill tribe
trekking and bamboo rafting, but in the more mainstream market standard
'sightseeing tours' are now being replaced with a more varied type
of holiday that includes at least some 'soft adventure' content.
Interestingly, our research shows that our guests are looking for
the following:
- To do something different - something they cannot do at home.
- To do it somewhere else - in a different environment and culture,
in a unique setting that reflected the architecture and style
of the country being visited.
- To undertake a mixture of activities - multi choice where possible.
- They want to contribute in some way to the well-being of the
planet - to give something back, to avoid tourism that is not
sustainable or eco-friendly in nature.
- They want to do the above, within a given timeframe, and within
a reasonable budget - and they wish to enjoy as much comfort as
possible whilst doing it.
Having determined the above, we decided that our business plan
should be quite simple: We should seek to provide our guests
with exactly what they are looking for.
- After careful consideration we decided early in 1997 that the
most logical approach to meeting our new objectives was to start
by building a 4-star 'adventure tour base' with features, facilities
and operating policies designed to appeal to both the emerging
'soft adventure' and family group markets. Maekok River Village Resort is the result of that undertaking.
- Next, through Track of the Tiger, we designed a range of new
and interesting excursion tours specifically for the resort. We
supported these with a range of several special interest courses
such as Thai food cooking, traditional massage and more….
- We added a Student Field Studies Centre aimed at accommodating
international student groups undertaking environmental and geography
studies, community service related projects, and/or enjoying a
range of 'outward bound' style activities.
- Then we added The Bamboo Man Adventure Club - with its
own clubhouse on our 15 Rai organic farm. The facilities include:
a rock climbing and abseil wall, an 850 m customised mountain
bike trials track, a 150m 'flying fox' run, and a giant obstacle
course with high and low ropes courses, and a range of courses
on outdoor pursuits.
- We then established our Corporate Development Assistance
Facility that draws on the full resources of the various elements
of both the tour company and the resort product to provide the
perfect environment to undertake corporate training tasks.
- And finally, Track of the Tiger, takes pleasure in introducing
a new tour product line, that includes; Special Interest Workshops,
& Multi Choice Activity Holidays for Small & Medium Sized
Groups, and the Bamboo man - Eco-Challenge style competitions.
Much of the 'new content' is designed for implementation through
the traditional 'low season' of the Thailand tourism year.
Shane K Beary
Managing Director
Maekok River Village Resort
& Track of the Tiger Tours
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