TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHERN THAILAND

Tourist trekking is expanding among the hill tribes of northern Thailand. These tribes are chronically poor, contribute to deforestation and soil erosion, and have been a focal point of past insurgency. Development schemes have been initiated, but none has been totally successful in solving these problems. Trekking annually now attracts more than 100,000 persons to the region and accounts for the influx of approximately U.S.$2,000,000. This benefit must be weighed against the cultural and social effects on the native groups. Tourism, properly managed, could both facilitate changes advantageous to the hill tribes and minimize environmental degradation.