Visit Year 9 www.thegeographeronline.net for more information

1. To know the trend of the number of international
tourists to Thailand each year
To understand the reasons that might explain
these events and decide which are more serious
than others
To consider the effectiveness of a group-
approach to managing social, economic,
environmental and political events
To develop communication and group work skills
Lesson Objectives

2. Scenario:
You are part of a team of tourism experts
invited to the Thai Parliament to help the
government manage serious situations
developing within their country.
Thailand has always been a popular tourist
destination. The country now relies on this
industry for many jobs and hence most of
its GDP. This is important as it is a
developing country and hence welcomes
all the money it can get!
TASK:
A helicopter pilot is in the
air sending back reports. It
is up to your team to
collect the reports, map
the up-to-date activity
and make the crucial
decisions required to
manage the situation and
stop this important industry
from failing!
However, there have been a number
of social, economic, environmental
and political events and these all
could potentially threaten their tourist
industry. If this collapses, people’s
livelihoods and the country’s economy,
as well as its reputation, could be at
risk!

3. Your Teacher is the president of Thailand and will assess your
decisions
Each team requires at least 1 of the following members:
News Reporter:
Your role is to monitor the reports coming in from the helicopter and take them to
the rest of the team. You also need to ensure a decision is made in time.
Cartographer:
Your role is to map out the various events (starting with naming the 7 places),
and work with the event planner on a plan for ensuring the safety of the tourists.
Event Planner:
Your role is to make important decisions to manage the crisis. You have the
reports from the helicopter and the advice of the cartographer. After you make
a decision your president will give instant feedback.
Roles:

4. Resources:
 A3 map of the country for annotation by the
Cartographer
 Decision-making sheet for the Event Planner
 A3 blank graph for part 2 of the task

5. A critically acclaimed and popular film set in a beautiful, peaceful island is
released.
Year: 2000

6. Year: 2003
The virus SARS is spreading globally and is killing many
people in Asia, especially in China. The first few cases have
been announced in Thailand in the most northerly 2
settlements.

7. Year: 2004
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean off the western coast
of Indonesia triggers a tsunami with waves up to 50 foot
high!

8. Year: 2004
Over 2500 tourists have died in this tsunami and
there are still 3700 people missing!

9. Year: 2005
Much of the western coast still lie flattened by the
tsunami – with few tourist facilities – as
broadcasted across the world.

10. Year: 2005
The Thai currency, the Baht, is the strongest it has ever been against the US Dollar
and British Pound, meaning you get more for your money in Thailand.

11. Year: 2006
Six motorcycle bombs explode in Southern Thailand,
near a city on the coast, followed by another three in
the capital city.

12. Year: 2008
Global recession strikes, particularly affecting the countries of USA and those in
Western Europe.

13. Year: 2010
Anti-government ‘red shirt’ protestors in the capital city violently riot against the
government, setting fire to a shopping mall and vandalising the streets – some were
even shot!

14. Year: 2011
Heavy monsoon rains have led to widespread flooding in the largest city, set to
worsen for 6 weeks.

15. Now would these events have a positive
impact or negative effect on Thailand’s
tourism?
Discuss in your tables and in the year column put a:
‘+’ if you think it would increase the number of tourists
‘-’ if you think it would decrease the number of tourists
‘/’ if you think it wouldn’t affect the number of tourists
Now as a class ‘thumbs up/sideways/down’ for each event!

16. How much would these events have impacted
on the number of tourists to Thailand?
Using the previous task, on the blank graph plot a
line graph of the trend of the number of visitors to
Thailand over this time period…

17. How does yours compare?
Think, pair, share…
•Why is there an overall increase over time?
•Which events had the biggest effects on tourism? Why?
•Look at the map – where were the most affected areas? Why?
REVIEW – Answer the self-evaluation sheet in
silence on your own
Word Bank for Q5:
Positive trend
Negative trend
Fluctuating trend
No correlation
Peak
Trough

18. What you have hopefully learnt
Hands-up summary:
• Can I describe the trends of tourism for Thailand?
• Do I know at least 5 events that have affected
Thailand’s tourism?
• Can I state which events affect these trends more?
• Do you feel that you can comment on the success
of your group?
• Who thinks their group worked well?
• Who thinks their group could have worked better?