Development of Sustainable Tourism

The highest goal in social and economic development is the endeavour to improve the quality of life and to create a safe and peaceful society and eliminate problems and strife. In order to achieve these goals sustainable development must, therefore, be instituted.

Sustainable development adheres to the principle of promoting unextravagant consumption of resources within the capacity sustained by the eco-system with the benefits of the public in mind (People-centered development), a community-based type of development, by encouraging the participation of the people.

The literature of the World Conservation Strategy defines sustainable development as
1. Sustaining the ecosystem which supports all living species.
2. Developing and maintaining the diversity of all living species.
3. Utilizing of living species and the ecosystem must yield lasting stability.

At present, the world has responded favorably to the idea of sustainable development for the main reason that and economic, industrial, scientific and technologically-based development has resulted in the exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of production for commercial purposes. Development based on those simple ideas is therefore, an illusion, its failure resulting in long term impacts.

In Thailand, the concept of sustainable development is being widely discussed. The launching of this concept depends on the mobilizing of operational forces to overcome the various obstacles. The following basic principles should be considered in terms of sustainable development from the aspect of tourism.

1. The development of tourism must operate within the potential of nature, communities, customs, culture and lifestyles pertaining to the process of tourism.

2. An awareness of the involvement of community, customs rituals and culture pertaining to the process of tourism.

3. All sectors of the population must be able to reap the same economic benefits from tourism.

4. The indicators must comply with the aspirations of the local population and communities in the particular tourist areas.

The four principles aforementioned require a collaboration of economic needs with the sustaining of society and the conservation of environment for the longest time possible.

TAT and the Directions in Sustainable Tourism Development
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has established its operational policies for sustainable tourism development which have been formally announced as follows:

1. Urgently promote tourism in Thailand by motivating foreign tourists as a means to attract foreign currency in order to enhance the economy in general.

2. Expand sightseeing spots in local areas so as to distribute income generated by tourism to the populations in all regions.

3. Conserve and maintain the cultural heritage, natural resources and the environment so as to best maintain the Thai identity.

4. Develop and maintain the standard of facilities and infrastructure essential for the tourist services so as to create a lasting impression on the tourists.

5. Increase safety measures so as to ensure a feeling of safety for Thai and foreign tourists traveling to various destinations in the country.

6. Promote local sightseeing among the Thai people targeting especially lower income and youth groups so as to increase the benefits of tourism for the Thai people.

7. Increase the number of Thai personnel working in the tourist industry.

8. Encourage the public sector to become involved in activities pertaining to tourism development.

These eight principles emphasize the need for sustainable development particularly the policies in number 2, 3 and 8 which aim to fuse economic development with environmental protection and conservation measures by allowing utilization at only a certain level so as to preserve the indentity and resources for future generations.

In order to accomplish these policies, work plans, project activities and measures have been determined. During the 36 years TAT has been in operation, apart from the promotional and public relations aspects of tourism, it has also produced plans for tourism development, manuals for different types of tourism development, campaigns to promote knowledge of the tourist industry and conservation as well as the development of skills for tourism personnel.

The Launching of tourism development in directions of sustainability
Since the tourism industry is related to various agencies both in the government and private sectors as well as the local public in the area, in order that tourism develops in a sustainable direction, it is thus essential to receive serious and continued cooperation and collaboration since the TAT cannot achieve those objectives on its own for several reasons such as
- There are both state and private agencies, central and regional, as well as the local public, dealing with tourism. Each of these agencies performs different roles that are related directly or indirectly tourism.
- There are over 50 laws relating to tourism in the form of bills, rules, regulations, announcements of ministries, regulations of ministries each of them characteristically different according to the functions and purposes of those laws or the organizations governing those laws in particular. These laws encourage the promotion and development of tourism but can at times be a hindrance for appropriate or sustainable development.

Nevertheless, there presently is an effort at collaborating between the related agencies of ensue sustainable growth and development of the tourist industry. During that time, several creative activities have been generated each of them aiming to promote ideas of sustainable development for tourism to the people from all walks of life, for example:
- A seminar entitled "Development of Thai Tourism in Directions of Sustainability" organized by TAT and the Mass Media Society for the Promotion of Tourism on October 10, 1994, at the Ambassador Hotel.
- "Green Operation in Hotel Industry" conference organized by the Association for the Development of Quality of the Environment and TAT at the Sirikit Convention Centre, June 9-10, 1994.
- A mobile activity unit to disseminate information on tourism and conservation covering an area of five provinces namely Chiang Rai, Phayao, Phrae, Nan and Uttaradit.

Some of the activities described above have been organized by TAT in collaboration with several agencies with particular emphasis on target groups such as business people, government officials and students since TAT believes that in order for Thai tourism to develop in a sustainable direction the collaboration of efforts and ideas to encourage and find solutions to problems is most strongly needed.