Phuket has long been promoted, marketed and thus established as a hedonistic paradise for all, whether that is one of yachts, spas and champagne or jet skis, ?massages? and cheap beer.

Every year visitors come in their millions to indulge themselves and bask on the beautiful beaches. More, more, more, more.

A few metres from, and sometimes within the compound of, the most decorated and luxurious resort will usually be a community living in shacks or gypsy boats and residing in such incomprehensible squalor, that the foreign visitor often views it as ?traditional.?

Thailand is still a developing country. Thailand still has many problems. Many of which are so deep-rooted and embedded as part of the culture, that at times they seem impossible to remedy or change.

Of course such ways of thinking, of hand washing and disowning of responsibility are also incredibly convenient, especially to the expat resident or tourist as they tuck into a Sunday brunch that costs more than the week?s wages of the waitress bringing it to him.

Tourism is the main source of revenue for Thailand, so what to do? A quick-fix solution would be to appeal for more tourists. In turn, this would encourage more investors on the island to build more hotels thus creating more jobs and more tuk tuks, massage parlours and bars. Wages for Thai people are unlikely to increase however as in order to fund the construction of the new resort and in order to offer competitive room rates, staff wages will stay low.

In pursuit of more visitors, fewer will actually come because what initially attracted them to Thailand; the natural beauty and tropical laid-back lifestyle will have long since died; a victim of its own success as a hedonistic paradise.

So what to do? Another option is to change tact ever so slightly and discourage visitors from solely hedonism to a kind of hedonistic help. Voluntourism - travelling while volunteering for charitable causes ? professes to do this.

Karen Spackman has been working at Andaman Discoveries ? a voluntourism centre, with projects in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi - since arriving in Thailand in 2008 and has seen a rapid increase in its popularity during her short time in the industry.

She said that volunteers who make the trip to the Land of Smiles tend to range in age, from Gap-Year students to retirees, but are all driven by a need to help.

?Younger volunteers see the benefits of gathering life experiences and being challenged, while older volunteers have more opportunity to spend time on themselves, they also have access to more disposable income and want to experience projects that are in the community. The concept of giving something back is a high priority for our volunteers,? Karen said.

One of the Andaman Discoveries projects is the Phuket Disabled School set up in 2009 and located in Kathu. Volunteers typically stay on-site as well as helping to teach there. The travellers assist the teacher and provide work on a one-to-one basis with the children.

Karen said, ?The Disabled School really values interacting for the children with volunteers. Westerners usually bring with them different teaching methods and ideas that can be shared and developed at the centre.?

It?s important to know that Voluntourism is not a charity and is not an NGO. Voluntourism is a business, and for this reason it often causes controversy and comes under scrutiny from those who regard the set up of the operation as beneficial to the volunteers instead of the community they are there to ?help.?

Karen however believes that the Disabled School and other Andaman Discoveries projects are not only valuable to the volunteers but more importantly to the children and communities.

?We see the need for projects in this area to interact and bond with foreigners in a positive way. Many visitors come to Phuket for a fun-packed holiday and never interact with local people. We felt there was a real need to try and change perceptions about foreigners and what they want to experience when coming to Thailand.?

Volunteers of course pay to go on said volunteering tours. Money is divided between the salaries for staff, the maintaining of operations and direct donations to the project.

Another of the Andaman Discoveries? projects is an orphanage located in between Phuket and Takua Pa in Phang Nga.

?At the local orphanage the volunteer's contribution not only helps the home run financially on a day-to-day basis, but also helps build confidence and English skills with the resident children.?

This Karen hopes will help in later life, ?As we all know hospitality is one of the major employers in this area and if the children can gain a high level of English skills their chances of securing employment in this sector increases, it certainly would give them opportunity at higher end positions.?

And Phuket will certainly need more General Managers, Director of Operations as well as waitresses and drivers in years to come, certainly with the way the hotels and businesses are shooting up?