Creating a Network of Youth in Sustainable Tourism Development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region Case study: Nakhon Phanom,Thailand and Khammouan, Laos PDR

Abstract

The tourism industry has become significantly important sector in economic cooperation between the countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). A focus on the development of young people as a major force in the development of sustainable tourism would be developed to benefit the economic, social, cultural and environmental needs continuing development together with the GMS countries by creating a network for knowledge sharing. First, the study of attitude of the local youth towards sustainable tourism in the GMS at Nakhon Phanom and Khammouan was revealed that the group of youth had been developed by plans of participating in five aspects of the development of sustainable tourism: the problem searching, the planning, the operation, the benefit and the evaluation. Secondly, the results from this study were taken and integrating into the project of creating a sustainable tourism industry in the GMS network of youth in Nakhon Phanom and Laos PDR. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how to build a network of youth in order to increase their awareness of sustainable tourism in the GMS by using the action research with the application of A-I-C for participatory planning as a tool. Thirdly, this study also analyzes and synthesizes the results of the previous quantitative study along with findings from interview, group discussion and direct observation from qualitative study for searching a guideline of sustainable tourism by youth. The results from a model of the guideline in sustainable tourism by youth using the English letters form “TEAM” showed that participants have exchanged the knowledge and the operational experience from the sustainable tourism community which guided them to understand problems of tourism in the community. Participants have also participated in tourism plans, implemented in the sustainable tourism, received mutual benefits and evaluations in order to develop the community together effectively.