Costs and Benefits of Tourism Development in Thailand - Term Paper Example

sts and Bеnеfits of Tоurism Dеvеlорmеnt (Insert Name) (Institution Affiliation) Tourism in Thailand 1. Background Tourism is travelling to a different state or country with the aim of enjoying the weather site seeing, and learning about that countries culture. This paper I will discuss the positive and negative effects of tourism with a keen interest in Thailand. The discussion will be focused on social, economic and environmental effects of tourism in this country. Thailand has a population of 65 million with Thai as official language. The country a perfect weather where it is hot all year round although the climate varies depending on the areas one is visiting (Dream of Thailand, 2008). Thailand is one of the most visited destinations in the world today. The country is located strategically bordering Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Thailand is reach with lots of attraction sites which include an elephant Nature Park it is rescue center and sanctuary for elephants located in the northern part of Thailand, railway beach a small peninsula which is found between Ao Nang and the city of krabi which is accessible only by boat because of the high limestone cliff (Dream of Thailand, 2008). Wat Rong Khun is another amazing contemporary unconventional Buthist temple it does not have any historical background but it is among the many man made wonders of Thailand. The national museum of Thailand located in the capital city, Bangkok. The Bira Circuit is an important tourist attraction where people visit from all over the word to witness motor rallies. Other tourist attractions include Chang Mai Zoo Safari World, Wat Arun Dusit zoo. Thailand is also rich with natural tourist attractions which include Chiang Dao cave, Lam Klong Ngu, Ko Samui KO Panda and many more. Tourism has its cost and benefits which affects the social economic and environmental aspects of a country (Dream of Thailand 2008). 2. Costs of Tourism in Thailand a. Social Cost Tourism is said to be the main reason to the cultural decline in Thailand has its negative aspect mostly to the society. Negative aspects include social exchange which mostly takes place in transactions between the locals and the tourists. Transactions can be in physical where there is actual contact between the visitors and the locals. Exchange of objects and services which include room service, recreation facilities and meals courses negative effects to the natives. The transactions create an avenue for cultural brain washing. If the native appreciate what they learn from the tourists they tend to retain it, it could be an objects or character. Consequently, the locals have lost their culture and adopted those of the tourists. Due to tourism, the government of Thailand have neglected its people mostly those who live around the tourism attraction sites in favor of tourists. The locals residents are evacuated from their land to give room for the visitors (Mingsarn 1994). HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases have increased in Thailand due to increase in sexual engagement with infected tourists. Some tourists visit Thailand with the aim of engaging in sexual activities with the locals hence the increase in HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted deceases. Thailand is known for child prostitution where people from other countries go to Thailand because penalties of these crimes are less severe than in their home countries. It is believed that by bribing the law enforcers a tourist can get away with such crimes. This was a problem till 1994 when it was addressed by the Prime Minister of Thailand at an international conference on child sex trade (Mingsarn 1994). Increase in drug abuse and other illegal activities which are the main reasons to some visitors who visit Thailand because they cannot engage in such activities in their countries. As a result, there is an increase in crime mostly to the tourists visiting because they are presumed to be wealthy (Mingsarn 1994). Environmental cost Tourism in Thailand has negative impacts to the environment this occurs because the levels of visitors are using more than the environment is able to endure. Tourism is a threat to Thailand’s natural resources which include coral reefs, beaches and historical sites. Tourism affects the natural resources through littering. Plastic bags, bottles and wrappers which come with tourists, are not disposed of in the right way hence polluting the environment (Terry & Sarah 2000). The tourists also come and pollute the air through the increase in air traffic during high seasons. In addition air traffic also increases noise pollution. The high number of tourists visiting Thailand at this time has increases competition for the limited resources such as water and land. Due to this competition there is damage of wildlife habitat and the natural of the scenery are getting worse of every day. Once tourists visit Thailand they do not normally travel on foot, the vehicle they use in large numbers increase on air pollution through emissions.in addition tourists contributes to sewage and solid waste pollution (terry & Sarah 2000). Natural habitats are destroyed in Thailand as general tourist infrastructures which include roads hotels, restaurant, shops, golf courses, marinas and airports have been constructed to accommodate the high numbers of tourists visiting and also attract more to Thailand. The impacts in question are mostly related to infrastructure development ranging from airports and roads and other tourism facilities like resorts, restaurants and hotels. Tourism puts a strain on water resources which creates competition between the locals and the tourists (Terry & Sarah 2000). Economic cost The development of infrastructure which includes airports and roads, have impacted in the economy of the local government positively. The government has spent lots of money in developing this attraction sites while there is limited returns from the investments. The government has also over looked other revenue generating activities including farming which is also one of the main revenue generators having that it largely dependent on exports of farm products. There is also the fact of inflation where property is overvalued in the aim of attracting tourist to buying property. This situation has affected even delivery of good and services to the locals. The prices of goods and services are just as high as of the tourist rates. Due to this situation the locals continue to anguish in poverty while the government continues to earn from a lot from the industry. Thailand is a third world country this means that it is not able to generate lots of revenue to develop it tourisms industry. With this fact the country is forced to contract other countries. This results to the other countries developing their economies and not Thailand. There is no permanent employment in Thailand mostly in the tourism industry, this is because tourists come seasonally hence people are hired and laid off when the season is over. This limits people and from getting formal jobs because of the over dependence on the tourism industry. In addition workers are poorly paid because they lack skills to work at managerial level (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2010). Thailand over dependence on tourism is a risk to its economy in case of a natural calamity or an act of terrorism, the country’s economy would crash and the people of Thailand would suffer before the economy stabilizes. Although there are many negative effects of tourism in Thailand, tourism has still been one of the strongest pillars of its economy. Benefits of Tourism Social benefits Tourism brings foreign currencies including the dollar to Thailand that supports communities’ improvement of facilities and improvement in services to the benefit of the locals of Thailand. If it were not for tourists there would be little or no development and improvement in these areas. Thailand is recognized worldwide as the ideal place to spend a vacation. These has encourages the people of Thailand and have made them proud of their country. There is an enormous exchange of cultural behavior between hosts and guests this has improved quality of life in Thailand by learning new and better ways to approach life. Good education is among the major cultural exchange that has highly developed Thailand. They have learnt different languages increasing greatly in their skills hence they are able to effectively communicate with the visitor (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2010). Thailand has been able to maintain and celebrate their traditions and culture. Tourists are attracted by the culture of Thai which has withstood the test of time. Tourism has contributed a great deal in Thai people being able to maintain their local festivals and cultural events. Funds gained from tourism are being used positively to better the livelihood of the people of Thailand by the building of schools hospitals and other infrastructures needed by the community. Economic benefits Thailand is an agriculture economy driven country it exports most of its farm products to other countries. Unfortunately competition is too high from other countries that are exporting the same. With the help of tourism Thailand is able to diversify and stabilize its local economy (Oxford Economics 2011). The government is able to collect extra taxes from the transactions between the locals and the visitors and also includes accommodation, and taxes from employee income restaurant, airport, and sales also including park entrance fees. Tourism in Thailand has employed a lot of people. Jobs which relate directly to tourism and others that are not directly related which support tourism by providing s food and also house construction (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2010). Tourist money that gets to the local economy and gets to circulation where it is spent over and over again hence increasing the value of the Thailand currency. Tourism is also very important to the airline industry in Thailand. The aviation sector pays over THB4.8 billion in tax receipts from employees’ social security contribution and corporation tax levied on profits according to (Oxford Economics 2011), Thailand airline is connected to almost all destination in the world in the pursuit to attract as many tourists as possible. . Environmental benefits Proper tourism management has lately been linked improved environmental management as well as natural resource use sustainability. To attract more tourists, it has been a necessity to conserve various natural habitats and indigenous sites deemed valuable to the industry. This includes national parks, forests, caves, various water bodies as well as wildlife parks. Thailand has increased forest conservation and historical site preservation. Thailand cannot afford to destroy is environment because they highly depend on it to attract visitors. Tourism has increased encouraged the local communities to engage themselves in beautification and revitalization. Thailand makes a lot of money from tourism this revenue gained is used to conserve the environment (Terry & Sarah 2000). The environment is likely to benefit upon a comprehensive environmental administration which is subject to controlled planning in development. Conclusion In conclusion after investigation of the environmental resources, careful planning will help in making choices between conflicting users for a particular resource and increase their compatibility. Proper and timely tourism development will not only protect the environment and avoid various conservation mistakes but also avoid natural resource depletion significant to the tourism industry. It is advisable for the government to come up with regulatory measures which will help counterbalance negative impacts. This includes coming up with regulatory policies for tourist visitors, tourism sites ecosystem management, as well as tourism construction led development. In the long run, sustainable tourism development will be achieved. References Mingsarn, S.K. (1994). What Do We Gain and Lose TDRI, Thailand’s Tourism Industry Quarterly review, 9(3). Pp, 23-26. Oxford Economics (2011). Economic benefits from air transport in Thailand. [Online]. Accessed 12/03/2013 Terry, D. & Sarah, C. (2000). Environmental Implications OF the tourism industry: Washington DC Resources for the future [Online]. Accessed Tourism Authority of Thailand, (2010). Thailand 50 great green escapes: seven greens concept. [Online]. Read More

HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases have increased in Thailand due to increase in sexual engagement with infected tourists. Some tourists visit Thailand with the aim of engaging in sexual activities with the locals hence the increase in HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted deceases. Thailand is known for child prostitution where people from other countries go to Thailand because penalties of these crimes are less severe than in their home countries. It is believed that by bribing the law enforcers a tourist can get away with such crimes.

This was a problem till 1994 when it was addressed by the Prime Minister of Thailand at an international conference on child sex trade (Mingsarn 1994). Increase in drug abuse and other illegal activities which are the main reasons to some visitors who visit Thailand because they cannot engage in such activities in their countries. As a result, there is an increase in crime mostly to the tourists visiting because they are presumed to be wealthy (Mingsarn 1994). Environmental cost Tourism in Thailand has negative impacts to the environment this occurs because the levels of visitors are using more than the environment is able to endure.

Tourism is a threat to Thailand’s natural resources which include coral reefs, beaches and historical sites. Tourism affects the natural resources through littering. Plastic bags, bottles and wrappers which come with tourists, are not disposed of in the right way hence polluting the environment (Terry & Sarah 2000). The tourists also come and pollute the air through the increase in air traffic during high seasons. In addition air traffic also increases noise pollution. The high number of tourists visiting Thailand at this time has increases competition for the limited resources such as water and land.

Due to this competition there is damage of wildlife habitat and the natural of the scenery are getting worse of every day. Once tourists visit Thailand they do not normally travel on foot, the vehicle they use in large numbers increase on air pollution through emissions.in addition tourists contributes to sewage and solid waste pollution (terry & Sarah 2000). Natural habitats are destroyed in Thailand as general tourist infrastructures which include roads hotels, restaurant, shops, golf courses, marinas and airports have been constructed to accommodate the high numbers of tourists visiting and also attract more to Thailand.

The impacts in question are mostly related to infrastructure development ranging from airports and roads and other tourism facilities like resorts, restaurants and hotels. Tourism puts a strain on water resources which creates competition between the locals and the tourists (Terry & Sarah 2000). Economic cost The development of infrastructure which includes airports and roads, have impacted in the economy of the local government positively. The government has spent lots of money in developing this attraction sites while there is limited returns from the investments.

The government has also over looked other revenue generating activities including farming which is also one of the main revenue generators having that it largely dependent on exports of farm products. There is also the fact of inflation where property is overvalued in the aim of attracting tourist to buying property. This situation has affected even delivery of good and services to the locals. The prices of goods and services are just as high as of the tourist rates. Due to this situation the locals continue to anguish in poverty while the government continues to earn from a lot from the industry.

Thailand is a third world country this means that it is not able to generate lots of revenue to develop it tourisms industry. With this fact the country is forced to contract other countries. This results to the other countries developing their economies and not Thailand. There is no permanent employment in Thailand mostly in the tourism industry, this is because tourists come seasonally hence people are hired and laid off when the season is over.

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