SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM IN THAILAND Nopparat Satarat A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Development Administration) School of Public Administration National Institute of Development Administration 2010 ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation Sustainable Management of Community-Based Tourism in Thailand Author Ms. Nopparat Satarat Degree Doctor of Philosophy (Development Administration) Year 2010 ________________________________________________________________________ Tourism industry in Thailand generates the country’s second largest source of revenue, which has generated significant revenue and income circulating throughout the nation. Rapid increasing rate of tourists has created negative impact on socio- economic and environmental conditions, particularly natural exploitation, unequal income distribution and waste management problem. Thus, the need to develop tourism in a sustainable manner has also become a primary concern. In Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) then shifted its policy towards more sustainable tourism development, focusing on conservation and benefits to local communities. The overall goal of ecotourism development in Thailand is to develop a sustainable industry, to maintain a healthy natural and social environment, and to foster self-reliance in local communities. However, there are many studies indicating that where ecotourism is not sufficiently community-focused has created negative impact on the environment, and indigenous communities have not received sufficient benefits. Thus, the concept of community-based tourism was initiated. The idea behind the community- based approach is to create potential for empowering the community, enhancing their involvement in decision making, and making sure that the will and incentive to participate come from the community itself. iv The key findings from the 4 case studies reveal that community-based tourism in Thailand generally emerged from both inside and outside factors, including economic difficulties, environmental degradation as well as government policy. The success of community-based tourism depends on various issues, such as the abundance of tourism resources, level of community participation, strong leadership, the strength of community organization, fair benefit distribution, effective natural resource management and sufficient outside support. The result of this study also highlighted that community-based tourism, which has been perceived as a sustainable tourism, would create both advantages and disadvantages to local people in various aspects, including economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts. Therefore, principles of sufficient economy philosophy and Buddhist economics were introduced to integrate with the concept of community-based tourism as a guiding principle for all people to acquire real happiness. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my gratitude to so many people who supported me in the producing of this dissertation which has been the most significant academic challenge I have ever had to face. Firstly, I would like to thank Dr. Pairote Pathranarakul fo his continued guidance, patience and support throughout this research. His wisdom, knowledge and commitment to the highest standards inspired and motivated me. I also would like to thank Dr. Noppawan Thanakajana and Dr. Pichit Pitakthepsombat for their valuable advices and insightful feedback which had really helped to improve my work. This study cannot be finished without the field research, which is the most critical part of this dissertation. Impressive moments of my dissertation journey have been shared with many local people. I would like to thank all community members, especially Bang Roh on Koh Yao Noi, Khun Prommin Puangmala in Ban Mae Kampong and Kamnun Surin Ninlert in Bang Chao Cha. I thank you all for sharing your fascinating stories and wisdom. I also wish to thank my three wonderful research assistants, Oat, Tom and Oil, for their tireless effort in helping me in the field. I also thank my colleagues in the Ph.D. program for their friendship and sincere support. Finally, and most importantly, I have to express my deepest gratitude to my husband, Dullapah Jaroenjitt, for encouraging me to undertake this study, particularly his fullest love and support. None of this would have been possible without my parents, Preecha and Emiko Satarat, thank you for your endless and unconditional love and support for your naughty daughter. I love you. Nopparat Satarat February 2010 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2.1 Positive and Negative Impacts of Tourism 9 2.2 Benefits of Community-Based Tourism 12 2.3 Home Stay Standard in Thailand 17 3.1 Descriptions of Four Selected Case Studies 32 4.1 Populations of Ban Khok Kong by Age in 2008 60 4.2 Populations of Bang Chao Cha by Age in 2008 74 4.3 Populations and Households in Bang Chao Cha Community By Village 75 4.4 Populations and Households in Koh Yao Noi by Village in 2008 91 4.5 Average Annual Income of Koh Yao Noi Villages in 2008 93 5.1 Rates of Tourism Activities in Ban Mae Kampong 201 5.2 Rates of Tourism Activities in Ban Khok Kong 204 5.3 Rates of Tourism Activities in Bang Chao Cha 206 5.4 Rates of Tourism Activities on Koh Yao Noi 211 5.5 Codes of Conduct in Four Case Studies 216 6.1 Response Rate of Mailed Questionnaires 286 6.2 General Characteristics of Respondents 289 6.3 Community-Based Tourism in the Community 293 6.4 Perceived CBT Success Factorsx of Respondents 295 6.5 Level of Community Participation in Community-Based Tourism 297 6.6 Tourism Resources 300 6.7 Community Leaders 303 6.8 Community Organization 306 6.9 Outside Support 309 x 6.10 Learning Process of Tourism Activities 311 6.11 Economic Impacts of Community-Based Tourism 313 6.12 Environmental Impacts of Community-Based Tourism 315 6.13 Social Impacts of Community-Based Tourism 316 6.14 Cultural Impacts of Community-Based Tourism 317 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Number of Tourist in Thailand from 1999-2007 1 2.1 Conceptual Framework for Analysis 26 3.1 Research Process of the Study 30 3.2 Locations of Selected Communities 34 3.3 Population of the Study 37 4.1 Map of Chiang Mai 44 4.2 Map of Ban Mae Kampong Ecotourism Village, Chiang Mai Province 45 4.3 Ban Mae Kampong Administration 46 4.4 Map of Kalasin Province 58 4.5 Map of Ban Khok Kong Phu Thai Cultural Village, Kalasin Province 59 4.6 Ban Khok Kong Administration 61 4.7 Map of Angthong Province 70 4.8 Map of Bang Chao Cha OTOP Tourism Village, Angthong Province 71 4.9 Community Unification in Bang Chao Cha 81 4.10 Map of Koh Yao Noi in Phang Nga Province 88 4.11 Map of Koh Yao Noi 89 5.1 The Emergence of CBT in Ban Mae Kampong 110 5.2 The Emergence of CBT in Ban Khok Kong 113 5.3 Emergence of CBT in Bang Chao Cha 117 5.4 Emergence of CBT on Koh Yao Noi 121 5.5 Locations of Home Stays in Ban Mae Kampong 126 5.6 Administrative Committee in Ban Mae Kampong 193 5.7 Administrative Committee in Ban Khok Kong 196 xii 5.8 Administrative Committee in Bang Chao Cha 198 5.9 Administrative Committee on Koh Yao Noi 200 5.10 Distribution of Tourism Revenues in Ban Mae Kampong 203 5.11 Distribution of Tourism Revenues in Ban Khok Kong 205 5.12 Distribution of Tourism Revenues in Bang Chao Cha 209 5.13 Distribution of Tourism Revenues on Koh Yao Noi 213 7.1 Emerging Impacts of Community-Based Tourism 324 7.2 Proposed CBT Model for Thai Local Communities 327 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement and Significance of the Problem Ever since the sector was stimulated as part of the Fourth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1977–1981) to boost the country‟s economic development (Eurblarp Sriphnomya, 2002: 236), the tourism industry in Thailand has shown continuous and very fast growth. Tourism generates the country‟s second largest source of revenue, which has generated and circulated significant revenue and income throughout the nation. International tourists visiting Thailand doubled from 7.76 million in 1998 to 14.46 million in 2007, with 83.23 million domestic trips in the same year, (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2008b) as presented in Figure 1.1. Figure 1.1 Number of Tourists in Thailand from 1999 – 2007 Source: TAT, 2008. 2 The rapidly increasing rate of tourists has created negative impacts on socio- economic and environmental conditions, such as natural exploitation, unequal income distribution, waste management problems, accelerated changes in the culture and traditions of local indigenous communities as well as drug and prostitution problems (Mingson Kaosa-ard, 2006: 12). Many international organizations are aware of these adverse effects of mass tourism and have tried to encourage a new kind of tourism pattern more in harmony with nature. Therefore, the concept of “sustainable tourism” as a global strategy for supporting the principle of “sustainable development” was declared at the World Summit at Rio De Janeiro in 1992. Sustainable tourism covers every element of tourism; in other words, it is recognized that all tourism should be sustainable tourism (Dowling, 1995: 88). Thus, many forms of alternative tourism, such as ecotourism, agro- tourism, pro-poor tourism and indigenous tourism, were introduced in order to cope with the social and environmental impacts of conventional tourism. As the tourism industry is becoming increasingly important to communities around the world, the need to develop tourism in a sustainable manner has also become a primary concern (Richards and Hall, 2003: vii). In response, the TAT shifted its policy towards more sustainable tourism development, focusing on conservation and the benefits to local communities. As a result, the National Ecotourism Policy was declared in 1998, and the National Ecotourism Action Plan 2002 - 2006 was introduced in 2001.