The benefit of tourism throughout the local economics in Buriram.

Poramint Saesiao (Paul)

ID: 6280788
SEC: 16
Prof: Walter Persaud
Date: 12th March 2020
 Travel and tourism is one of the world's largest industries.Many cities in developing

countries around the world heavily rely on tourism as a main channel of income. Because it also

increases the number of employment, then it alleviates poverty. The benefits of economy from

tourism in Buriram outweigh the social and environmental issues. There are several advantages

of the tourism industry, which are income generating, area promoting, and jobs opportunity.

The background of this research is mainly based on Buriram and some other provinces in

Thailand. Buriram is a city that economically focuses on tourism and is followed by agriculture

such as cane and sugar industries. Buriram has an area of 10,322.885 kilometers square.

Ordering the area, Buriram city is number 17th for the whole country and number 6th for the

north-eastern provinces. It has a population of 1,536,070 (Udompong, 2008). Currently, this

province is well known for Buriram United F.C. football stadium and ​Buriram International

Circuit. Both of them are propelling the province to move forward. Back then Buriram was a no

name city. In 2012, Buriram's economy was suffering. ​The survey data was shocking, there are

more than 7000 households that gain their salary below the average 23,000 baht per person per

year​ (Posttoday, 2012). This ranked Buriram​ as the 2nd poorest province in the country.

However, Tourism does not bring only benefits to the community. There are some

drawbacks that come with tourism. Environmental problems are one of the serious issues that

can not be denied. Tourism can often cause environmental damage like erosion, pollution, the

loss of natural habitats, and forest fires (Hunter and Green, 1995). Even if tourists behave

responsibly, a few of them can cause damage. Ancient buildings, monuments, and temples often

struggle to cope with the permanent scars. This can include coral reefs and other natural

resources. For example, in 2016, marine officials banned tourist activities at coral reefs near
three islands off Phuket’s east coast to prevent further damage to coral reefs at popular tourist

sites (Fernquest, 2016). Another factor from tourism that damages the environment is hotel

waste. On the 18th of December 2018, the villagers in the area went to make a complaint with

the officials who are responsible for the water management in Kalasin province. The

representatives stated that the hotel has been releasing their wastewater through a pipe that leads

to the Nong Bueng Hai swamp for over a year (Tanyaporn, 2018). However, those cases can be

solved by environmental policies, control or banning them areas that need to take time for

recovery.

For the first beneficial part, tourism is able to generate a massive income​.​ This is

probably the main advantage of tourism and the reason why it has been promoted so much,

especially in developing countries such as Thailand. The income generated can make up a

significant proportion of both private, local, and national incomes. Tourism can dramatically

affect local economies like Buriram. According​ to Longtunman, Buriram’s GPP(Gross

Provincial Product) in 2007 was 44,785 million baht. After 10 years, when both sport stadiums

(Buriram United stadium and international circuit) were established, the amount was doubled to

around 84,333 million baht (Longtunman, 2019). For the bigger scale, according to Supasorn

(2017), Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand. The total contribution of travel and tourism in

Thailand’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2016 was approximately 82.5 billion USD, and in

2017 it rose up by 9.4%. ​Tourism is able to alleviate the poverty issues. Salli Felton, acting chief

executive of the ​Travel Foundation​ in UK-based, “Tourism has been described as the world’s

largest transfer of resources from rich to poor” (Robertson, 2013).

 Secondly, Tourism can support the development of some local areas by promoting.

Promotion is one way to marketing their provinces, either by word of mouth or through social

media. It puts its name on the map, and tourism gives the local a chance to show itself and raise

its profile on the global scale. This can return the benefits to the local communities economy by

the more tourism, the more well known of that area. For instance, Buriram is well known for

sport, and they use this advantage to spread civilization to the surrounding. ​During the time of

Buriram, a large sporting event, hotels here are fully booked. Some tourists cannot find

accommodation. Even having to cross to sleep in neighboring provinces like Surin and Nakhon

Ratchasima (​Adisornprasert, 2019​).​ It shows that the tourist destination can sustain other

industries. In addition, tourism also creates a better image for Buriram in terms of social impact.

Newin Chidchob, advisor of the Buriram United International Circuit Project, state that

This project actually helps ‘Dek wan’ (young motorcycle gangsters) on the street by providing

lanes in the circuit to make them express themselves in the right way (Ruamsuwaan, 2014).

Meanwhile, the infrastructure is also developing. Phoonphongphipat (2017) mentioned in

Bangkok Post that “SET-listed miller Buriram Sugar Plc (BRR) has filed an application with the

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an infrastructure fund to raise money for

the expansion of its core sugar business as well as its renewable power business”.

Lastly, the most important reason that tourism is beneficial to the local area is the job

opportunity. It can provide employment opportunities for people who are able to work in

tourism-related industries. For instance, hotel, restaurant, transport, activities, or local market.
According to The Nation Thailand (2019). Air bnb has launched a campaign,​ titled ‘Sustainable

Travel with Airbnb: Beyond Big Cities’, to encourage the hostel industry in the buriram. Aims to

promote and drive both domestic and international travel to emerging destinations in Thailand.

Hotel industry is one of the industries that fully benefit from tourism. During the Moto-GP sports

event in Buriram, ​the number of bookings to hotels in the surrounding provinces is expected to

increase in tourism revenue in 2018 by approximately 500 million baht from 2017. Total revenue

in surrounding provinces is around 5,000 million baht (Prachachat, 2018).

To sum up, I do agree that tourism has more beneficials than drawbacks. Due to those

three reasons above; economic, promotional, and opportunistic. This research found that no

matter what, if the number of tourism is out of control it can cause massive damage to the

communities such as environmental harm and it will countinully affect the economy later on.

The funding should clearly distribute, Money can end up being directed to tourist areas when it

could be used more effectively elsewhere in a country.

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