The Affects of Tourism in the Akha People and Its VIllage
Abstract
As an anthropology major I know it is not enough to understand and know a community’s structure and its function in a month of stay; but within this month I had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the Hill Tribe people of Thailand specifically the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu and Lisu. Through this and other research materials I came to understand and see first hand how tourism affected these communities. Since the largest number of time that I spent between the Hill Tribes was at the Akha village, I will particularized my research with them. This research is not meant to generalize the Hill Tribe people living in Thailand, my research is specific only to the Akha people based on my short stay with them and in Thailand; therefore I cannot conclude any particular analysis but instead present an objective truth based on facts that I gathered.
The Tourist
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, in 2011 there were 4.4 million foreign tourists who visited Thailand; 59.45% came from East Asia, 18.92% from Europe, 4.67% from The Americas, 7.34% from South Asia, 5.18% from Oceania, 3.64% Middle East and 0.80% are from Africa. Also, the statistics shows the top 10 countries who spent millions of Baht in 2011 these are; China (13 million), Australia (12.3 million), Malaysia (12.2 million), UK (11 million), Russia (9.5 million), USA (9.2million), Japan (8.3 million), India (8.2 million), Korea(7.7 million), and Germany (6.8 million). But according to the research made by TAT, in the year of 2007 to 2010 the top countries who visited Thailand came from UK and Australia; therefore the most profitable country to target in terms of tourists coming in to Thailand are the one’s who came from the regions of Europe and Australia.
Eventhough South East Asian countries dominated the number of tourists going in Thailand; it is economical for TAT and travel agencies to target western citizens, because they travel alone and spent more money; compare to
As an anthropology major I know it is not enough to understand and know a community’s structure and its function in a month of stay; but within this month I had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the Hill Tribe people of Thailand specifically the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu and Lisu. Through this and other research materials I came to understand and see first hand how tourism affected these communities. Since the largest number of time that I spent between the Hill Tribes was at the Akha village, I will particularized my research with them. This research is not meant to generalize the Hill Tribe people living in Thailand, my research is specific only to the Akha people based on my short stay with them and in Thailand; therefore I cannot conclude any particular analysis but instead present an objective truth based on facts that I gathered.
The Tourist
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, in 2011 there were 4.4 million foreign tourists who visited Thailand; 59.45% came from East Asia, 18.92% from Europe, 4.67% from The Americas, 7.34% from South Asia, 5.18% from Oceania, 3.64% Middle East and 0.80% are from Africa. Also, the statistics shows the top 10 countries who spent millions of Baht in 2011 these are; China (13 million), Australia (12.3 million), Malaysia (12.2 million), UK (11 million), Russia (9.5 million), USA (9.2million), Japan (8.3 million), India (8.2 million), Korea(7.7 million), and Germany (6.8 million). But according to the research made by TAT, in the year of 2007 to 2010 the top countries who visited Thailand came from UK and Australia; therefore the most profitable country to target in terms of tourists coming in to Thailand are the one’s who came from the regions of Europe and Australia.
Eventhough South East Asian countries dominated the number of tourists going in Thailand; it is economical for TAT and travel agencies to target western citizens, because they travel alone and spent more money; compare to
References: Cohen, Erik. (1996). Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-Ended Prostitution. Bangkok: White Lotus Cohen, Erik Johnson, Andrew Alan. (2007). Authenticity, Tourism, and Self-discovery in Thailand: Self-creation and the Discerning Gaze of Trekkers and Old Hands. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol