Fulbright Scholar Dr Rama Jayanti’s Talk on Sustainable Tourism at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

Rama Jayanti, a Fulbright Scholar hosted by Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, delivered a guest lecture at The Sasin School of Management, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand in November 2022. The visit was supported by a grant from the Fulbright East Asia Pacific Regional Travel Program. The presentation, titled “Sustainable Tourism: Integrating Service Ecosystems and Institutional Perspectives,” attracted a wide array of participants from the academia, business community, public policy, and non-profit sector.

The presentation challenged the public conception of the meaning of sustainability and how diverse perspectives of the sample subjects and the researchers may bias results from cross-cultural research. Institutional theory may provide a solution to this dilemma, with institutional logics acting as a foundation for defined and scripted actions. Commercial logics lead to actions rooted in economic routines indicative of opportunism and self-interest whereas communal logics result in actions rooted in trusteeship routines indicative of restrained opportunism and benevolence. International tourism may harbor pluralistic logics of development and preservation. Development logics may lead to economic prosperity, but the preservation logics may counter the development with arguments for generational connection. The plurality of development and preservation logics intersect to illustrate a paradox between increasing economic value and diminishing community welfare.

The presentation attracted a heated debate on the pros and cons of development within the context of Thailand, with participants bringing up different examples of conflict. Conflict resolution programs implemented in Thailand were discussed with an illustration from the fishing industry.

Rama toured the college, which was celebrating the first in-house graduation ceremony post – COVID. Life-size cutouts of students’ favorite professors were placed throughout the school premises. The Princess of Thailand presented the awards, and the ceremonial staff handed the diplomas to the princess by scooting on their knees (training is provided before the ceremony).

During her trip, Rama explored the possibility of joint sustainability research programs between CSU and SASIN, focusing on the UN Sustainability Development Goals. Hosting a website to curate the various sustainability-related activities both universities have undertaken is also discussed with Mr. Nick Pissalyaput, president, of Corporate Responsibility & Ethics, Association for Thai Enterprise (CREATE), and Mr. Lars Svensson, chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee Chambers of Commerce, Thailand.

Last Updated: Apr 4, 2023 @ 10:54 am
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