Thailand Responsible Travel

Your tourist dollars can make a big impact on the destinations you visit. The choices you make during your trip can have powerful effects on local communities—for better or for worse. Travelers who care about the destinations and environments they explore should make themselves aware of the social and cultural implications of their choices. Simple decisions such as buying local products, paying fair prices for products or services, and attempting to speak the local language can have a strong, positive effect on the community.

Community-based tourism aims to channel tourist dollars into the local economy by emphasizing tours and cultural programs that are run by members of the host community. This type of tourism also benefits the tourists themselves, as it often takes them beyond the traditional tours of the region. Thailand is a prime location for this kind of tourism, from visiting environmental conservation projects to learning Thai cooking in northern towns (see Beyond Tourism, ). The Ethical Travel Guide (UK£13), a project of Tourism Concern (☎+44 20 7133 3330; www.tourismconcern.org.uk), is an excellent resource for information on community-based travel, with a directory of 300 establishments in 60 countries.

Social and environmental problems are often tied up with tourism in Thailand. While popular, visits to the hill tribe villages of the north often degrade local villages and can disrupt native culture (see Life and Times, ). People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has called attention to the alleged mistreatment of elephants in Thailand’s elephant camps. Some of these camps may employ inhumane training techniques. Keep this in mind when planning itineraries including elephant treks or elephant camps.