DASTA congratulates Chiang Khan in winning the Green Destinations Story Awards 2026 at ITB Berlin 2026
During 3-5 March 2026, Mr. Titipong Khiewpaisal, Chairman of DASTA Board, and Mr. Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, Director-General, DASTA, led DASTA representatives from Songkhla Lagoon Designated Area for Sustainable Tourism Office (DASTA Songkhla Lagoon), the Corporate Communication Office, and Community-Based Tourism Office, participated in Internationale Tourismus Borse (ITB Berlin) 2026 in Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, to receive the Green Destinations Story Awards 2026 in the Categories Environment and Climate on behalf of Chiang Khan, and to exhibit DASTA’s sustainable tourism destinations in the Thailand’s Pavilion, raising awareness of sustainable tourism highlights in Thailand.
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DASTA Team joined the opening ceremony of the Thailand’s Pavilion and has the honors to jointly received Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratan along with all Thai attending entities at the event. On this occasion, Mr. Khiewpaisal led DASTA Team in welcoming and presenting "Nera" Nora Beaded Bag, a local craft product to Her Royal Highness at DASTA's Booth.
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During the ITB Berlin 2026, DASTA Team also participate in the Green Destinations Top 100 Story Awards 2026 Ceremony, where "Chiang Khan", Loei Province, was selected as the 1st Place Winner of the Green Destinations Top 100 Story Awards 2026 in the Category Environment and Climate with the entry title: ‘When the Mekong Changed: A Chiang Khan Fishing Village's Journey Towards Sustainable Tourism’ (More on Website). As the Submitting Organization, DASTA, by Mr. Khiewpaisal and Mr. Cheawsamoot, joined the event to receive the Green Destinations Story Awards 2026 plaque and celebrated the successful collaboration on behalf of all stakeholders and relevant partners that drive forward this Chiang Khan's initiative.
Chaing Khan is a city located in Loei Province, a Northeastern part of Thailand, and is one of the responsible destination under Loei Designated Area for Sustainable Tourism Office (DASTA Leoi). The city is well known for its cultural heritage and enviromental assets. Here are some more of Chiang Khan's sustainability recognized internationally in recent years:
✨NEW: The 1st Place Winner of Green Destination Top 100 Stories Awards 2026 (Environment and Climate Category): ‘When the Mekong Changed: A Chiang Khan Fishing Village's Journey Towards Sustainable Tourism’
✨Green Destination Top 100 Stories 2026 (Environment and Climate Category): ‘When the Mekong Changed: A Chiang Khan Fishing Village's Journey Towards Sustainable Tourism’
✨The 2nd Place Winner of Green Destination Top 100 Stories Awards 2025 (Thriving Communities Category): 'From Breakfast Coupons to Chiang Khan’s Economic Linkage'
✨Green Destination Top 100 Stories 2025 (Thriving Communities Category): 'From Breakfast Coupons to Chiang Khan’s Economic Linkage'
✨2024 Green Destinations Silver Award
DASTA would like to congratulate all winners and participants on thier thier inspiring sustainable initiatives that contribute to the continuous growth of sustianaility in global tourism industry, espcially the follow successful winners from Thailand, namely:
✨Green Destinations Top 100 Story Awards 2026: "Koh Lanta," Krabi Province was the 1st Place Winner in Nature and Scenery Category (submitted by Mu Ko Lanta National Park), and "Uthai Thani Old Town," Uthai Thani Province, was the 2nd Place Winner in Environment and Climate Category (submitted by UThai Thani Town Municipality).
✨Green Destinations Awards 2026: "Doi Phu Kha National Park," Nan Province, won Silver Award, and "Takua Pa Old Town," Phang-nga Province, won Bronze Award. (More here)
(Picture of Thai Delegates from TAT)
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At DASTA’s booth, highlight information, development tools, and tourism routes of sustainable tourism were exhibited and distributed among interested individuals, boosting awareness of its works to a wider, international audience. This included new issue of DASTA’s Travel Magazine and “Sustainable Star Guide”, encompassing sustainable, community-based tourism highlights from all nine designated areas of DASTA.
Other than sharing its development knowledge, DASTA also demonstrated Thailand’s rich cultural assets and creativity by offering free Creative Tourism (CT) activities for ITB visitors to enjoy through hand-on experience. In this ITB Berlin 2026, DASTA, by the DASTA Songkhla Lagoon, bring local heritage and products directly from the local communities from the Songkhla Lagoon Lake Basin in the Southern part of Thailand to present at the international stage. There were two DIY activities to choose from: the “Nora Beads Keychain” of Songkhla Province, and the “Nora Serd Keychain” of Phattalung Province, where interested visitors can decorate, bead, and paint to create their unique keychain for free while learning about the inspiring story of “Nora Dance Drama”, an UNESCO-recognized Intagible Cultural Heritage (ICH), traditional dance drama from the southern part of Thailand. The keychains were inspired by the iconic, vibrant beading Nora coustume and "Serd", the unique crown-shaped headdress of Nora dancers, inviting visitors to learn local crafts, traditional heritage and wisdom, while enjoy creating thier own, one-of-a-kind souvinirs.
✨ Songkhla was announced as a UCCN – City of Gastronomy in 2025
✨ Nora Dance Drama of Southern Thailand was listed as the UNESCO's Intagible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021
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Additionally, DASTA team met and exchanged ideas on the importance of sustainable tourism development and services in Thailand’s context with interested representatives from various organizations and companies, gaining new inspirations and information of current trends of sustainable development in global tourism sector for future application. At the event, the team also discuss with the Green Destination Foundation on continuously elevating sustainable tourism development towards international standards.
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DASTA’s participation and engagements during this event represented the successful results of the integrated collaboration between DASTA, local authorities, relevant stakeholders, and local communities within DASTA’s designated areas for sustainable tourism, highlighting the sustainable destinations development aligned with international standards, especially on destination management, according to the Government’s policy and DASTA’s vision in becoming “an organization of excellence in integrating the development of designated areas, and to drive tourist destinations with qualities and sustainable growth.”
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