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Abstract:
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This study aims to investigate the impact of tourism on local communities in Pai District, Mae Hong Son Province. The field investigation was conducted during January - October 2015 to collect information from 400 samples of people living in the neighborhood of major tourist attractions of Pai who were identified by random sampling method under the assumption that they were affected by and understood the economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of tourism activities.
The results of this study showed that the positive economic impact was evident in terms of more diverse occupational undertakings and greater investment in the local area which resulted in higher income and more employment opportunity for the local residents while the negative economic impact was felt from the rising prices of consumption goods and hence the rising cost of living. The positive social impact was found in terms of local people being able to get more news and information from external sources while the negative social impact was evidently seen from the presence of narcotic drugs problems as well as community conflict which led to a lower extent of cooperation among local people in undertaking community activities. Culturally, the positive impact was perceived from the introduction of new technology and facilities into the local community making the life of people more convenient and modernized while the negative impact was felt with the changing way of life when people in the community began to adopt popular culture, no longer
wearing local traditional costume in daily life while adhering less to local tradition and culture. The positive environmental impact came from the development of infrastructure in the local area while the negative side was evident from the disorderly or unplanned expansion of community area, the encroachment into public space, the growing garbage volume as well as water and air pollutions, the heavier traffic and more frequent accidents, and to certain extent the noise pollution from activities in tourist attraction sites that disturbed the once tranquil rustic life of the local community.
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