Being part of the media is about more than reporting stories. For us, it is also about caring for the city we call home and doing what we can to help Chiang Mai move forward together.
This was the spirit behind a recent trip organised by the Chiang Mai Online Media Association, a gathering of online journalists, bloggers and content creators who wanted to be both receivers and givers, learning from local communities while also finding ways to give something back.
At a time when tourism has slowed and visitor spending often remains concentrated in the city centre, many small businesses and communities on the outskirts of Chiang Mai are left waiting for the high season to return. The association wanted to do more than simply report on the situation from a distance.
For its first travelling activity, dozens of members headed to Ban Hmong Doi Pui, one of Chiang Mai’s best-known mountain communities, tucked away beyond Doi Suthep. The idea was simple: visit the community, meet local people, support small businesses and use the collective reach of online media to remind audiences that Doi Pui remains a wonderful place to visit throughout the year.
Members explored the village, sampled local food and coffee, photographed the area and shared their experiences across their own platforms, each post becoming a small contribution towards bringing attention and visitors back to the community.
But the trip was never only about tourism. At Chao Pho Luang Uppatham 1 School, association members spent time with local children through an oral-health activity, teaching them how to brush correctly. Scholarships, school supplies, toothpaste and snacks were also presented to the students. They were simple gifts, offered without expectation, but the smiles shared that day were perhaps the most meaningful part of the journey.
Before returning to the city, the group stopped at Lan Din, a small community project and a supportive partner of the association, helping introduce its independent local businesses to a wider audience.
For the Chiang Mai Online Media Association, this journey represents what the organisation hopes to stand for. Its members are not simply media professionals documenting what happens around them — they are people who live here, work here and care deeply about the future of Chiang Mai, who believe that media can connect communities, support local businesses and become one more positive force helping the city move forward.
