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As mentioned previously, a speedboat operates from Pakbara pier to Bulon in the tourism season and it costs 300 THB (£6) for a return ticket. This is not only for

145 the convenience of tourists but also for locals. The researcher’s observations and direct experience of traveling to Bulon Island during the non-tourism season with no speedboat service concerned the cost of travelling from the mainland to Bulon or from Bulon back to the mainland. Local people wishing to travel to the mainland and do not own long-tail boat have to rent or pay for a long-tail boat from their relatives or friends at a cost of around 2,000–3,000 THB (£40–60) per journey and a duration of 1.5–2 hours. However, even households with a boat incur fuel costs of around 1,500–2,000 THB (£30–40), meaning the development of the speedboat service has also led to easier movement of goods and people to the mainland:

During [the] tourism season, it is quite convenient because I can get the speedboat to the mainland to buy thing[s] for my shop to sell. It is sav[ing me] both time and money .(Sonjit)

The woman above owns a small shop selling goods to local people and tourists. She mentions the speedboat service provides her with a convenient and fast way to do business, making it easier to get goods from the mainland to sell in her shop, which is also cheaper than before when she had to pay for a long-tail boat.

Additionally, the speedboat is useful when local people have emergency health problems; for example, this woman mentions giving birth:

Lucky [for] me and my boy, last month I had labour pains and normally we have to take our long-tail boat to the hospital, which takes two hours to reach the mainland. Luckily, there was a speedboat running at that time, so me and my husband took [the] speed boat and it is about [a] 30 min [trip]. (Wanna)

Local people in Bulon, such as the above interviewee, have received and recognized benefits from the speedboat service’s development aimed at tourists, allowing them to reach the mainland within thirty minutes. However, the speedboat service has also been an income distributor to local people in terms of

146 transporting tourists to the island. Figure 6.8 shows the transfer of tourists from the speedboat to a long-tail boat.

Figure 6.8: Transfer of tourists from the speedboat from the mainland to a long-tail boat on the island

The speedboat stops at the back of the island (Ao Mung Bay), after which local people use their long-tail boats to transfer tourists to the island at a cost of 50 THB (£1) per person payable to the long-tail boat runner. This is because Bulon Island does not have a pier suitable for speedboats and the island is surrounded by sensitive coral, preventing speedboats from getting close to the island. In addition, this is an income distributor to local people. However, there is an issue with long- tail boat transfer because tourists were not informed about the additional 50 THB beforehand, which caused some tourists to be resentful; moreover, the long-tail boat runners cannot speak English and cannot explain the situation to tourists.

147 6.4.4 Basic infrastructure improvements

Tourism brings money into underdeveloped localities for improving the basic infrastructure, particularly as the provision of roads, waste disposal and clean water and communication signals becomes necessary when an area is developed for tourism purposes.

A) Mobile and Internet Signals

The Satun local government improved the basic infrastructure in Bulon for the convenience of tourists and the benefit of local people. For example, the geography of Bulon Island and the few households there means it is not profitable for the private sector to invest in mobile and internet connections; therefore, local government has invested in mobile phone and internet signal for locals and tourists in Bulon. Significantly, the internet broadband signal gave students at the school opportunities for access and to gain more knowledge, as mentioned in Chapter five. This is because they lack education and materials at school and the improvement of internet broadband supports teaching and allows students to browse the internet or teachers to open an online classroom.

As you see, I have to teach students from different grade[s], so sometimes it is hard to group them and teach together. Now we have the internet at school, I can separate them into small groups and open [an] online classroom from the internet provided by [the] Ministry of Education. They call this distance learning. (Cha)

Besides distance learning, the students also have the opportunity to learn English from tourists who volunteer to teach them. The researcher met Jack, a volunteer teacher at the school, who told her that he first visited Bulon Island in 2008 and stayed at the School Bungalow. During his time on the island, he noticed the school did not have enough teachers and he met local people in Bulon who could not speak English. Jack had teaching experience and can speak a little Thai; thus, he started by consulting with Mr. Cha (school head teacher) and offered to teach English to students at school and to locals. He started his voluntary classes in

148 2009 on return to the island and he stays for four months during the tourism season each year.

The researcher drew Figure 6.9 during her participant observation in an English class provided by Jack. The students are excited about learning English and look forward to this class. In the class participant observation, one student said she is excited and very happy to learn English from a foreigner because she felt that it was fun and she would be able to talk to tourists on the island as well. She also mentioned it will give her opportunities for higher education or to seek a good job in future if she can speak fluent English.

Figure 6.9: Mr Jack, the volunteer English teacher

Tourism brings indirect benefits to poor local students in Bulon, following opportunities for learning English from a native speaker, because, in addition to learning from text books in the classroom, the students are able to meet and speak directly with a foreigner. They can practise and have a real conversation with tourists; moreover, the Thai teachers are also able to improve their English knowledge for better future education as well.

B) Waste, Water and Electricity Management

As mentioned earlier in Chapter five, poor social amenities (water and waste management) are part of the local people’s perception of poverty. Tourism has

149 brought indirect benefits through the improvement of waste and water management, increasing the attention of local governments to put more money into the system and improve important basic infrastructures, as this interviewee mentions,

Tourism has become famous in our island, it is also bring [sic] government attention to improve the basic household service. We have [a] new community solar cell panel and community large electric generator also you can see we also have the new water reservoir plan coming. (Mok)

Local people felt that the improvement of basic household services, such as water and waste management and the electric generator, have derived from development of tourism in the area. For example, the community electric generator has benefited local people, who can use it for their household or fishery activity; moreover, the improvement of the water reservoir on the island provides them with cleaner water. However, there is some concern about water management on the island during the dry season, the demand for water will increase as more tourists visit the island. Additionally, local people are concerned that if they use a lot of water during the tourism season, they will not have enough water in the dry season. The challenge for the community is therefore to plan tourism development sensibly.