A Tourism Transition Model for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Chiang Khan District, Loei Province

Abstract

         The research was conducted to answer the question: what will become of the Chiang Khan Old Town in the future and what preservation model could be applied to accomplish equilibrium between tourism and cultural heritage preservation? Primary data in the research were from interviewing local residents, tourists, non-participant knowledgeable persons, and the officials of the Chiang Khan Municipality; secondary data were from related official reports. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in analysis.

         The ‘cultural heritage phase’ concept was used for forecasting the possible future of the Chiang Khan Old Town. In the future, it is possible that entertainment tourism would replace cultural tourism and outsiders would replace some local residents; and tourism, if profitable, would benefit outside investors rather than local residents. For this reason, a heritage plan for balancing tourism with cultural heritage preservation was proposed in this study. Cultural tourism researchers should be aware that when people are living in the destination, almost all cultural heritage will be commodified for money and then the authenticity of the cultural heritage will disappear or be left in a desperate state. The research found this process has
already begun in the case of Chiang Khan.