The Impact of Tourism on the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand

Abstract The paper presents the preliminary results of a comparative study of the impact of tourism on the hill tribe villages in northern Thailand. After a review of the structure of the tourist industry in the region, the impact of tourism on five villages is examined in detail. Though some villages have been "spoilt" by tourism, tourism has not as yet had any markedly disruptive effects on the economic and social life of the villagers, but neither has it been of much benefit to them. Considerable differences between villages have been discovered, particularly a tendency towards the bifurcation of social life and the emergence of "tourist space" in the most touristic of the villages. The factors accounting for the differences and the future prospects of tourism in the villages are discussed in conclusion.