Description
The tourism industry is crucial for boosting Thailand's economy. The gorgeous beaches, rich cultural heritage, and bustling big cities have made it a popular destination, drawing millions of visitors annually (Ministry of Tourism and Sports, 2023). Unfortunately, the expanding number of visitors to any Thailand destination has presented ecological degradation and cultural commercialisation. In order to protect Thailand's valuable natural and cultural assets, tourism stakeholders must embrace a proactive and sustainable strategy. It involves the implementation of comprehensive policies and initiatives that prioritise responsible tourist practices, community engagement, and the conservation of ecological and cultural authenticity.
As mentioned above, this paper aims to explore tourism management from diverse stakeholders. The study applied a descriptive-qualitative methodology to obtain secondary data. The results show that managing tourism in Thailand for the future involves adopting a sustainable and responsible approach to ensure the long-term well-being of the industry and the country. Sustainability has recently become a crucial concern in Thailand's tourism industry. The government and diverse stakeholders are implementing measures to advance sustainable practices in the industry and safeguard the nation's natural and cultural resources. There are strategies and sustainable initiatives demonstrated in Thailand. The details are as follows;
1. The Thai government has formulated laws and guidelines to adopt sustainable tourism practices. Thailand has been guided by the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy programme – as the core principle of the National Economic and Social Development Plan since 2002 and conceived by His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2017; 2021) – in 2018 to encourage sustainable development in the tourism sector. The programme encourages all agencies to adopt eco-friendly practices. Besides, Thailand is implementing the national Bio-Circular-Green Economy strategy (BCG model)to promote innovative ideas to recover the tourism industry and post-pandemic COVID-19 recovery (OECD, 2022). The BCG model uses science, technology and innovation to transform Thailand's economy. It is achieved by focusing on four strategic sectors. It comprises agriculture, food, wellness, medicine, energy, materials and biochemicals, tourism, and creative economy. The goals of the BCG model are the sustainability of biological resources and boosting the local economy (NSTDA, 2021). Another strategy is implementing the carrying capacity of the famous tourist destinations to mitigate congestion and minimise environmental deterioration, especially tourist attractions in the National Park since 2005 (Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, 2005).
2. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (2019) established the project to encourage tourists to travel within the country and visit lesser-known tourist destinations while providing authentic cultural and natural experiences to the visitors. Besides, an off-peak season program is promoted in order to reduce the famous attractions during peak times of high seasons (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2022).
3. The empowerment of the local community participating in tourism planning and development is another project from the Thai government bodies such as DASTA (2019), which provides training and capacity building for local people, small businesses and entrepreneurs to enhance skills in sustainable practices and customer services (DASTA, 2021; Rungchavalnont, 2022).
4. Technology is utilising to leverage tourism destination into smart destination management and implement data-driven to monitor and manage tourist behaviours and preferences (Asian Development Bank, 2023).
5. Responsible tourism was introduced to the tourists in order to practice and be aware of local cultures and natural environments (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2023b, Prabudhitha, 2023). Also, establish the regulations and continuously monitor the standard of tourism products and services (Ministry of Tourism and Sports, 2019).
6. Establish collaboration between tourism stakeholders from the public and private sectors and local communities to ensure well-coordinated tourism management at the destination (DASTA, 2019; Rungchavalnont, 2022).
7. The eco-friendly and sustainable certifications program is a project from partnership organisations in both the public and private sectors in tourism to encourage hotels to adopt the concept (Green Leaf Foundation, 1997; DASTA, 2019; DASTA, 2022; Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2023).
In conclusion, the tourism industry is important to boost the economy. The considerations are the ecological integrity and the authenticity of the culture. Therefore, tourism stakeholders must follow the sustainable concept in order to maintain natural and cultural assets.
