Benefits
The major benefit is of course financial as tourism
brings around £8 billion per year of revenue into the country and is therefore
the countries greatest export.
The tourist industry has helped to create jobs. Tourism is labour intensive so it has
brought many low skilled jobs with a low barrier to entry and therefore better opportunities
for the poor and now accounts for around 13% of the
total employment. Tourism has also benefitted the wider supply chain
with the goods and services needed which helps local economies. It has helped Thailand move towards a more industrial
service economy rather than one heavily reliant on agriculture.
Disadvantages
A lot of critics will say that tourism
is promoted in Thailand on the basis of quantity rather than quality. As a
result it is suggested that this has brought an uneven distribution of
financial benefits, in favour of large corporate organizations whilst a lot of
the costs have been shouldered by local people who gain little from tourism.
Also
Thailand is suffering from the environmental effects of tourism development.
While the Thai tourism industry actively markets the country's unique cultures,
this commercialization of culture also causes its erosion or corruption. Some
rituals, ceremonies and cultural events have become over commercialized.
Most
tourism investment has been from the private sector. The public sector has not
been so active in improving infrastructure—e.g., roads, telecommunications,
water facilities that are often not fit for the local people let alone
tourists. Heavy traffic congestion in Bangkok has become a major problem.
Pollution generally has been a major issue for Thailand.
Also a great deal of natural habitat
has been removed to make way for hotels, restaurants, shops and other commercial
enterprises.
Interaction between rural Thai dwellers
and sophisticated urbanities from more developed countries introduces values,
behaviour and altitudes which may have corrosive or negative effects on local
residents.
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