Community Involvement and Ecotourism in Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand

Ecotourism has been identified as one of the tourism’s subsector that is fastest growing globally. Ecotourism offers opportunity to the local people in learning and using the area as attractions for the tourists. It’s not only sustain the conservation of the environment, but also improve the welfare of local people, especially people staying within the area. The direct involvement of local community in management of resources area will encourage them to appreciate the value of the resources and fight against any form of misuse or encroachment, as they have the sense of the belonging and responsibility to the area. Thailand is one of rich flora, fauna and cultural diversity country and becoming one of the popular ecotourism destination. According to the definition by the National Parks Act, Thailand has 154 national parks covering an area of 6.24 million hectares, includes both terrestrial and marine parks such as the highest land of Thailand “Doi Inthanon National Park†. This paper highlights the involvement of local community in Doi Inthanon National Park, where there are 9,792 residents living within the national park. Currently, there are four villages has been involved directly in the ecotourism activities of the Doi Inthanon National Park. However, there are no coordination among the groups that involved in the ecotourism activities, which may lead to unsustainable and confuse among the tourist. Realizing that problem, this paper recommends that relevant authorities to coordinate and help local community by providing guidance and capacity building.