HAYWARD -- Thailand's white sand beaches and stunning temples have not been enjoyed by as many visitors this year as the tourism industry would prefer.

Although safety and stability are promised in the "Land of the Wats," tourism is down due to previous scares involving SARS and terrorist warnings.

One solution involves the education of Cal State Hayward students.

The university offers the Transnational Executive Master's of Business Administration (TAMBA) course, a 13-month class linked to a global consulting program.

"We contract with companies or governments overseas to design a study for them," said Fhyam Kamath, director of TAMBA. "At the end of the 13 months, the students present their findings to the client."

The program is broken up into teams, and this year a group is working with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Kamath said the Thai government asked TAMBA to find ways to increase the number of American tourists who stay in Thailand for more than 30 days.

"Many Americans like to live for long periods of time in places like Mexico," he said. "They want to winter in a summer place -- people love to live overseas."

Kamath said Thailand consistently attracts Japanese visitors for long stays. The government wanted to find out what would draw more Americans.

The group working on the Thailand project has completed its secondary research -- collecting data online, reading books and referring to government publications. Viola Chung, a team member, said they will begin to hold focus groups in a couple of weeks. The project will also include a series of surveys with everyone from novice travelers to experts in the field of tourism.

The students also took a trip to Thailand during the beginning of August. Kim S. Smith, a team member, said the trip answered important questions.

Smith said they got to see what the country had to offer in addition to scenery, such as an impressive health care system and affordable housing -- issues that are important to Americans, especially now in this tight economy.

"People have medical care (needs), safety issues and retirement concerns," she said. "We want to get this information out to them. We have to ask what attracts the market."

At the end of the 13-month program, the students will present a multi-volume report to the client. Kamath said the Tourism Authority of Thailand is paying about $15,000 for this project, a service that usually costs clients much more if they go through a private company.

"No other university has its students do work that companies pay for," he said. "But the school and the students do not earn any money from this -- everything goes into producing reports and hiring research assistants."

The students in the TAMBA program have already spent some time as professionals in the world of business.

Smith is working as a business development manager for a corporation in addition to her school work, and Chung used to be a director of network design services.

She said the students did not get to pick which countries they worked, but she has been pleased so far.

"I'm very happy with my group," she said. "And I like that this project has a client. We get to apply what we learn right away."