| Author | Dararat Khamchiangta |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UE-11-04 |
| Subject(s) | Tourism--Mekong River Region
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Urban Envirortmental Management, School of Environment Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. UE-11-04 |
| Abstract | Tourism sector development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) put enormous
pressure on local ecosystems where rapid growth of tourism activities have taken place.
Local authorities that should play the role of enabler and regulator do not know how to
deal with the rapid pace of tourism development and its impacts. Therefore, this study aims
to examine how local authorities in some ecologically sensitive destinations in OMS are
dealing with tourism. The research employed a multiple case study approach. Some river
based, eco- tourism destinations in the middle part of the Mekong river basin, viz., Vang
Vieng in Lao, and Pai in Thailand were studied first to understand the factors that affect
the ecological sensitivity of a tourism destination. These factors were used to analyze the
trend of tomism growth in the newly emerging destination, Chiang Khan, in Loei province
of Thailand. The study finds that Chiang Khan is experiencing even more rapid tourism
growth compared to Vang Vieng and Pai. It also finds that the local authority in Chiang
Khan is not effective in managing the changes and development in the eco-system. The
study proposes some environmental management measures (EMMs) based on the findings
from all three cases. |
| Keyword | ecologically sensitive tourism destinations; tourism development;
environmental management; local authority; Greater Mekong Sub-region |
| Year | 2011 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. UE-11-04 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Perera, Ranjith |
| Examination Committee(s) | Sajor, Edsel;
Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government (RTG) |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2011 |