Is Pai a Sustainable Tourism Destination?

Requested and sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), this study was carried to evaluate the implementation plan of the TAT sustainable tourism practice (the 7 Greens Concept) to Pai District, Mae Hong Son Province. Assessment tools included a questionnaire for domestic tourists visiting Pai (n = 200) and small tourism related business interview (n=15). Indicators applied to evaluate the outcomes from the implementation of 7 Greens Concept through tourists’ questionnaire were structured in a meeting by the Director of the TAT Regional and Provincial Sectors of 20 persons. The results showed that the domestic tourists visiting Pai felt that tourism environments in Pai did not reach their expectation. Interviewees who are small tourism related business in Pai recognized that the TAT promoting conservation activities for sustainable tourism but only a few of them involved in the implementation of the activities.