MODELOS PARA LA CONFIGURACIÓN DE LOS MUNICIPIOS.

Table 5.5, below, contains a summary of various recommendations from different key informants for maintaining Xe Pian ecotourism so it will continue to contribute to local sustainable development. It was used in the process applied to analysing recommendations recorded during this study.

Table 5.5

Summary of the Different Recommendations for Sustaining Xe Pian Ecotourism from Different Key Informants

Core Informants Recommendations for Sustaining Xe Pian Ecotourism

Local residents in Kiet Ngong Village

 Elephant breeding

 Improving the quality of drinking and cooking water

 Advertisement of local homestays  Provision of training in English

 Provision of funds with low interest for poor families

 Setting up a local clinic

Head of Tourism Office at Phatoumphone

District

 Encouraging local people to participate in ecotourism activities, thereby reducing forest destruction and wildlife hunting.

 Linking tourism activities in each village with the purpose of distributing tourist earnings benefits equally and fairly

 Relocating all residents outside the National Park

International tourists

 Promoting forest and wildlife conservation.  More advertisement of ecotourism

 Training in English for locals  Local empowerment

Chief Technical Advisor of the Xe Pian Ecotourism Project

 Promoting better forest and wildlife protection  Implementing stricter laws and regulating

enforcement

 Promote having more support from Xe Pian National Protected Area for local people‘s involvement in ecotourism and better coordination between locals and Xe Pian NPA staff.

 Supporting locals to reside inside National Protected Area because the local people are an important part of the ecosystem. However, non- protected species are allowed to hunt due to the law. Also no animal hunting or disturbance in the area where tourists go.

 Stopping peat mining inside the Xe Pian National Protected Area

133 Looking at the bigger picture illustrated by the data in this table, it can undoubtedly be seen that along with some similar suggestions on how to sustain Xe Pian ecotourism, there were some overwhelming discrepancies in the recommendations offered by local residents and other key stakeholders.

The most significant point to note is that there were opposite recommendations made by the head of the tourism office at Phatoumphone District, who suggested people be relocated outside the park, and the chief technical advisor of the Xe Pian ecotourism project, who claimed that the local people are an important part of the ecosystem and they have a right to live inside Xe Pian NPA under the law and according to their long history of being in that area. He further said that it is permissible for them to hunt non- protected species for their daily consumption, according to the law; however, no hunting or disturbance should be visible in the area where tourists go.

However, foreign visitors expressed another perspective which was dissimilar, and appeared to offer a softer approach to maintaining forest and wildlife protection. They urged the use of education as a means of protecting the forest and wildlife. Particularly, raising awareness among the local residents about the positives of maintaining the forest and wildlife was considered to be a plausible remedy.

Another pragmatic approach was also suggested by the chief technical advisor of Xe Pian ecotourism project, and the local residents themselves. They claimed that better forest and wildlife protection could be accomplished by making use of current laws and regulations through increasing their enforcement. If such restrictions were implemented strictly and sincerely by the government, then significant improvement in results should be attainable.

Another key feature of the recommendations is that there were comparable recommendations made by both local residents and international tourists regarding local empowerment, training in English, and advertising. To be more specific, both local residents and international tourists shared the same points of view that local empowerment (in terms of political empowerment and decision-making concerning plans for nature protection) and economic empowerment (taking control of tourism earnings benefits) should be taken into account for Xe Pian ecotourism to be sustained. This view stems from the fact that the government has carried on with peat mining inside the NPA without any consideration of the local residents or ecotourism, and that

134 the government also collects a gate fee at the site which it does not appear to share with local residents.

Additionally, training in English has been suggested by both locals and foreign tourists, who stated that the language barrier hampers their communication. Thus, providing training in English for locals was expected to create a better atmosphere for conversation and cross-cultural sharing, while avoiding miscommunications as well. Lastly, additional advertising was viewed as a crucial remedy for maintaining ecotourism. These marketing campaigns would advertise not only the tourism attractions, tourist activities, and local people, but also local homestays as well. Some tourists were not aware that locals provided accommodations in good condition for a reasonable price (US$3 per night). The majority of foreign tourist stayed at the Kingfisher Ecolodge, apparently because of its better advertising as well as the better condition of its accommodation, which include air conditioning and Internet access. Such facilities come with an expensive price, however (US$38 per night). By launching more advertising, local residents may be able to raise their income from tourist earnings, as tourists would be more aware of the options available to them.

It is noteworthy to highlight that elephant breeding was the most pressing concern of local residents related to maintaining Xe Pian ecotourism, along with improvements to the quality of drinking and cooking water, financial support through low interest loans to the poor, and the construction of a local medical clinic.

In short, there are diverse suggestions from various points of view among the different levels of power involved with Xe Pian ecotourism activity. They all have quite a different ‗stake‘ in the area: tourists want a clean, green, unchanging environment and power to the locals. At the same time, local people want nice houses, a comfortable life, and they do not want people to tell them what to do in their own village; whereas, the government wants to take control of tourism resources in order to generate income or development nationally. It is not easy for this author to weigh and judge the importance of all these recommendations, and all of them are equally significant when it comes to taking into account how to sustain ecotourism.

135

CHAPTER SIX: Discussion

6.1.Introduction

The literature review in Chapter Two presented the history and definitions of sustainable development and ecotourism, as well as linkages between them. Also, the theories behind strategies for sustaining ecotourism were reviewed. Chapter Five presented the results of field research carried out in Kiet Ngong village using semi- structured interviews, private walks and observations, informal and formal interviews, a questionnaire survey, and other secondary data sources to gather information. In an effort to address the aim, objectives, and research questions, this chapter intends to compare the wider international and theoretical literature with the collected data in order to analyse whether ecotourism in Kiet Ngong village is a viable vehicle for contributing to local sustainable development.

This chapter is comprised of three sections; the first section will discuss an assessment of the Xe Pian ecotourism project‘s contribution to local development from the time it started. The second section will identify the current ecotourism risks that may make Xe Pian ecotourism unsustainable, by adopting a theoretical framework constructed in Chapter Two which builds on empowerment and regulation. At the end of this chapter is a concluding section, which briefly sums up all the issues mentioned.