Local perception towards tourism in Thailand, a case study of Chiang Mai

This dissertation is aimed at analyzing and discussing the perception of the local people of Chiang Mai towards tourism. Tourism in Thailand and its importance to the country is illustrated in the first chapter. The current position of Tourism in Thailand is indicated in the second chapter with tourism statistics and major trends shown between 1985-1995. This chapter also reviewed the importance of tourism within the Thai economy. The third chapter elaborated some of the major issues in Thai tourism with special attention to economic, environmental and sociocultural issues, as well as the related problems. In chapter 5 anticipated advantages and observed disadvantages in local community involvement in tourism in Chiang Mai are elaborated. Chapter 5 explains the research methodology followed by study results in chapter 6. Chapter 7 concluded the study's hypothesis as well as the objectives of this research. The implications from field - work and the policy issues are also noted. The conclusions from the study investigating the inner city of Chiang Mai residents' perceptions toward tourism development in the areas of arts and culture ; environmental circumstances ; employment ; infrastructure development and social problems revealed that on one side, there was a high degree of agreement among the respondents with regards to economic gain and employment created by tourism. Infrastructure development was also viewed positively by the respondents. On the other side, tourism was perceived as the cause of the environmental degradation and social problems. It is hoped that this study will serve as a source of reference and a guideline to be used by both private and public sectors in considering perception of local Chiang Mai people to tourism. The author has drawn articles from a variety of sources, including tourism journals, local newspapers and magazines. Field-work in the form of the samples were systematically chosen from the inner city of Chiang Mai to guarantee the outcome from the specified area of study.This dissertation is aimed at analyzing and discussing the perception of the local people of Chiang Mai towards tourism. Tourism in Thailand and its importance to the country is illustrated in the first chapter. The current position of Tourism in Thailand is indicated in the second chapter with tourism statistics and major trends shown between 1985-1995. This chapter also reviewed the importance of tourism within the Thai economy. The third chapter elaborated some of the major issues in Thai tourism with special attention to economic, environmental and sociocultural issues, as well as the related problems. In chapter 5 anticipated advantages and observed disadvantages in local community involvement in tourism in Chiang Mai are elaborated. Chapter 5 explains the research methodology followed by study results in chapter 6. Chapter 7 concluded the study's hypothesis as well as the objectives of this research. The implications from field - work and the policy issues are also noted. The conclusions from the study investigating the inner city of Chiang Mai residents' perceptions toward tourism development in the areas of arts and culture ; environmental circumstances ; employment ; infrastructure development and social problems revealed that on one side, there was a high degree of agreement among the respondents with regards to economic gain and employment created by tourism. Infrastructure development was also viewed positively by the respondents. On the other side, tourism was perceived as the cause of the environmental degradation and social problems. It is hoped that this study will serve as a source of reference and a guideline to be used by both private and public sectors in considering perception of local Chiang Mai people to tourism. The author has drawn articles from a variety of sources, including tourism journals, local newspapers and magazines. Field-work in the form of the samples were systematically chosen from the inner city of Chiang Mai to guarantee the outcome from the specified area of study