BANGKOK, Thailand, 20 July 2026: The best tourism stories are not always found in hotel openings, visitor records or glossy campaigns. Sometimes, they begin with a family earning more from its own knowledge, a young person choosing to stay in their hometown, or a community deciding for itself how tourism should grow.
That is the work behind Local Alike’s Gold Award at the Responsible Tourism Awards Southeast Asia 2026.
The Thailand-based social enterprise was recognised for creating meaningful local economic benefits through community-based tourism, helping communities turn culture, food, nature and local knowledge into visitor experiences while keeping more of the value close to home.
For Local Alike, the award reflects years of close collaboration with local partners, community leaders and travellers who believe memorable journeys should also create lasting benefits.
Somsak “Pai” Boonkam founded Local Alike with a clear idea — communities should not simply appear in tourism products. They should help shape them, manage them and benefit from them.
“This achievement is not only an award for our organisation,” Boonkam said. “It belongs to every community that has helped prove tourism can create real economic, social, cultural and environmental value.”
The company works with residents to develop experiences rooted in local life, from food and farming to crafts, heritage, nature and storytelling. The goal is not to turn communities into attractions, but to help local people welcome travellers on their own terms.
At the heart of Local Alike’s operations is Wanvipa Phanumat, chief operating officer, who helps turn the company’s vision for community-led tourism into practical results.
Together, Boonkam, Phanumat and the Local Alike team have built a model that connects purpose with professional delivery. Communities receive support in product development, service standards, partnerships, and market access, while travellers gain deeper, more respectful ways to experience Thailand.
The Gold Award also places Local Alike on the road to the Responsible Tourism Global Awards, to be held during World Travel Market London later this year. (3 to 5 November).
That opportunity will allow the company to bring a Southeast Asian story of community-led tourism to an international audience.
It is a story the wider industry needs to hear.
Tourism has long depended on the landscapes, traditions and hospitality of local people. Yet too often, those communities remain at the edge of the tourism economy while others capture most of the rewards.
Local Alike offers a different answer.
Its work shows that responsible tourism is not simply about reducing harm. It is about creating better choices, fairer opportunities and stronger local futures.
The company has pledged to continue advancing community-based and regenerative tourism, ensuring travel becomes a force that helps communities move forward without losing what makes them special.
Awards can recognise success, but the real achievement is found in the communities themselves: in the confidence to lead, the pride in sharing local culture, and the opportunity to build a future without leaving home behind.
For Local Alike, gold is not the end of the journey.
It is proof that when tourism begins with respect, listens carefully and shares its rewards, everyone travels further.
