For a coastal area you have studied (Thailand), you are asked to discuss the effects tourism has had.

Human attractions are also just as important as the physical ones. In each resort there is cheap accommodation, for example Koh Tao offers huts and bungalows by the Sea. Koh Samui has mostly four star hotels which offer bed and breakfast and return flights, and Pattaya has a total of 36, 000 hotel rooms on offer. The resorts also offer activities that are water based such as snorkelling, diving and water skiing, Koh Samui offers road trips to Ang Thing marine park, and there is the opportunity to take excursions to golf courses, or to watch elephant shows or trained monkeys or to learn logging skills.

The culture in Thailand is also an attraction, due to its historic buildings, festivals and events such as Nyepi, cultural markets, the variation of food, historic ruins, shops, and also tribal dancing, which is all available for Tourists to witness. Also the nightlife consisting of many bars, restaurants, and open-air discos is available, and make the resorts very attractive.

Discuss the positive and negative social, economic and environmental effects (impacts) of Tourism in your specified area.

As Thailand relies so much on Tourism as its number one industry, as what is needed to expand the economy and allow development to occur, it obviously has a positive impact. Therefore, you would think that the more money made from Tourism, the greater the economy and therefore the higher the levels of development. Since 1994 an increase in US$ of 28.4 billion has been made, which has been used to improve the country to a great extent. Socially, due to the multiplier effect, more jobs have been created, signifying the countries improvement; however, Tourism has negative effects too which are mainly environmental. Natural wildlife is being destroyed such as corals and marine life due to water based activities, islands are becoming developed and commercialised meaning that Tourists want to more onto less developed Islands with more calm and serenity, which just get built up again. This raises the levels of pollution, rubbish and waste and results in the overrun of development. Resources are being exploited such as land, which means that they are running out of space to live and to develop.

This links to the economic negatives, as if Thailand's popularity as a Tourist destination changed suddenly, then thousands of buildings will be left uninhabited and the economy will drop. An example of this happening was when the SARS disease was spreading throughout Asia, Thailand dropped in popularity and due to this so did its economy.

Other negative effects that are categorised as social, includes the erosion of tradition values and culture. Not to mention the negative social effects if the rise in prostitution and child slavery in Thailand, resulting in Thailand becoming the second most affected AIDS area in the World. Also the cost of living is rising, not helped by the unequal income distribution, which has led to a wealth divide, meaning that poor Thais actually suffer more from Tourism, whilst richer Thais prosper. The Tourism Industry has also led to corruption in the government, and the lack of long term thinking in ways to help the country.

Therefore the tourism industry in the coastal areas of Thailand that I have covered is generally positive, as it has created jobs using the multiplier effect, made more money for the economy, aided development, and made itself a place well known on the World map. However, there appears to be more negative effects socially, economically and environmentally than positive, concerning the lack of long term thinking in the government. So to conclude, I think that to an extent the tourism industry has a more negative effect on the coastal areas, but there are also positive effects, some of which out weigh the negative.

Out of 8 marks.

Alice Marmion 11W