Assessing Accommodation Suppliers? Perceptions of Climate Change Adaptation Actions on Koh Phi Phi Island, Thailand
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5614/ajht.2021.19.1.01Keywords:
Tourism, Climate Change, Islands, Adaptation, Koh Phi PhiAbstract
Koh Phi Phi Don is among the most visited island tourism destinations in Thailand. Due to the island?s topography and development patterns, most accommodation suppliers on the island are likely to be exposed to a range of climate change impacts, particularly sea-level rise, which can pose a severe risk to the local tourism operations. This study aimed to explore perceptions of climate change adaptation actions in response to impacts typically associated with climate change. This study, furthermore, investigated possible obstacles, barriers, and incentives influencing decision-making processes of accommodation owner-managers (the private sector) to adapt to climate change. The investigation builds on 81 surveys and 12 in-depth interviews. The findings provide evidence that most of the sampled businesses already implemented (consciously or not) climate change adaptation measures, such as insurance coverage, water treatment appliances, and staff training on emergency responses. Through a concentration of power on the island, their action is hindered, which creates a barrier to a sustainable and climate risk-informed development pathway.
References
Belle, N., Bramwell, B., 2005. Climate Change and Small Island Tourism: Policy Maker and Industry Perspectives in Barbados. J. Travel Res. 44, 32-41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287505276589
Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I., Wisner, B., 1994. At risk: natural hazards, people's vulnerability, and disasters. Routledge, London; New York.
Calgaro, E., 2010. Building resilient tourism destination futures in a world of uncertainty Assessing destination vulnerability in Khao Lak, Patong and Phi Phi Don, Thailand to the 2004 Tsunami (PhD Thesis). Macquire University Sydney, Sydney.
Calgaro, E., Naruchaikusol, S., Pongponrat, K., 2009. Comparative Destination Vulnerability Assessment for Kao Lak, Patong Beach and Phi Phi Don (Project Report). Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Bangkok.
Coldwell, W., 2018. Thailand's Maya Bay, location for The Beach, to close to tourists. The Guardian.
Del Chiappa, G., Usai, S., Cocco, A., Atzeni, M., 2018. Sustainable Tourism Development and Climate Change: A Supply-Side Perspective. J. Tour. Herit. Serv. Mark. 4, 3-9. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1490348
Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, 2005. City Planning for Phi Phi Island, Krabi Province. Ministry of Interior, Bangkok.
Dodds, R., 2013. Will tourists pay for a healthy environment? Assessing visitors' perceptions and willingness to pay for conservation and preservation in the island of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. Int. J. Tour. Anthropol. 3, 28-42. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTA.2013.054407
Dodds, R., 2010. Koh Phi Phi: Moving Towards or Away from Sustainability? Asia Pac. J. Tour. Res. 15, 251-265. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2010.503615
Dodds, R., Graci, S.R., Holmes, M., 2010. Does the tourist care? A comparison of tourists in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand and Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. J. Sustain. Tour. 18, 207-222. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669580903215162
Dodds, R., Kelman, I., 2008. How Climate Change is Considered in Sustainable Tourism Policies: A Case of The Mediterranean Islands of Malta and Mallorca. Tour. Rev. Int. 12, 57-70. https://doi.org/10.3727/154427208785899920
Ellis-Petersen, H., 2018. Thailand bay made famous by The Beach closed indefinitely. The Guardian.
Gazette, L.P., 2016. Phi Phi Island releases 83% wastewater untreated [WWW Document]. The Thaiger. URL https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/Phi-Phi-Island-releases-83-wastewater-untreated (accessed 7.27.19).
Gilli, E., 2010. Effect of the 2004 Asian tsunami in the sea cave of Tham Phaya Nak (Koh Phi Phi archipelago, Thailand) and possible evidence of a prehistoric event. Geodin. Acta 23, 79-88. https://doi.org/10.3166/ga.23.79-88
GoKohPhiPhi, 2007. Phi Phi Island Fun Facts and History [WWW Document]. URL http://www.gokohphiphi.com/phi-phi.html (accessed 4.9.18).
Google Earth, 2020. Koh Phi Phi Don.
Hess, J.S., 2019. Thailand: Too popular for its own good, in: Dodds, R., Butler, R. (Eds.), Overtourism: Issues, Realities, and Solutions, De Guyer Studies on Tourism. De Guyer, Munich.
Hopkins, D., 2015. The perceived risks of local climate change in Queenstown, New Zealand. Curr. Issues Tour. 18, 947-965. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2013.776022
Howell, D.C., 2013. Statistical methods for psychology, 8th ed. ed. Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA.
Johnson, C., 2018. On Climate Change, Risk and Relocation (No. 63), DPUNews. Development Planning Unit (DPU), University College London (UCL), London.
Kelman, I., 2020. Disaster by choice: how our actions turn natural hazards into catastrophes, New product. ed. Oxford University Press, New York.
Kelman, I., Gaillard, J.C., Lewis, J., Mercer, J., 2016. Learning from the history of disaster vulnerability and resilience research and practice for climate change. Nat. Hazards 82, 129-143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2294-0
Krutwaysho, O., Bramwell, B., 2010. Tourism policy implementation and society. Ann. Tour. Res. 37, 670-691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2009.12.004
Leopold, T.I., 2008. The Construction of a Disaster Destination: Rebuilding Koh Phi Phi, Thailand (PhD Thesis). University of Otago, Dunedin.
Long, J., 2007. Researching leisure, sport and tourism: the essential guide. Sage Publications, Los Angeles, Calif.
O'Keefe, P., Westgate, K., Wisner, B., 1976. Taking the naturalness out of natural disasters. Nature 260, 566-567. https://doi.org/10.1038/260566a0
Partelow, S., Nelson, K., 2020. Social networks, collective action and the evolution of governance for sustainable tourism on the Gili Islands, Indonesia. Mar. Policy 112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.08.004
Ritphring, S., Somphong, C., Udo, K., Kazama, S., 2018. Projections of Future Beach Loss due to Sea Level Rise for Sandy Beaches along Thailand's Coastlines. J. Coast. Res. 85, 541-545. https://doi.org/10.2112/SI85-109.1
Shakeela, A., Becken, S., 2015. Understanding tourism leaders' perceptions of risks from climate change: an assessment of policy-making processes in the Maldives using the social amplification of risk framework (SARF). J. Sustain. Tour. 23, 65-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2014.918135
Sojisuporn, P., Sangmanee, C., Wattayakorn, G., 2013. Recent estimate of sea-level rise in the Gulf of Thailand. Maejo Int. Jounral Sci. Technol. 7, 8.
Steckley, M., Doberstein, B., 2010. Tsunami survivors' perspectives on vulnerability and vulnerability reduction: evidence from Koh Phi Phi Don and Khao Lak, Thailand. Disasters 35, 465-487. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2010.01221.x
Szuster, B.W., Dietrich, J., 2014. Small Island Tourism Development Plan Implementation: The Case of Koh Tao, Thailand. Environ. Asia 7, 124-132.
Taylor, F., 2019. Phi Phi revisited: A contemporary assessment of destination vulnerability. APTA: Asia Pacific Tourism Association, 2019 Annual Conference, Da Nang.
Taylor, F., 2018. The Beach Goes Full Circle: The Case of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, in: Sangkyun, K., Stijn, R. (Eds.), Film Tourism in Asia. Springer, Singapore.
Taylor, F., 2012. Post disaster tourism development of Phi Phi Island: political economy and interpretations of sustainability (PhD Thesis). University of Bedfordshire, Luton.
The Thaiger, T., 2018. Koh Phi Phi has to address critical water problems [WWW Document]. The Thaiger. URL https://thethaiger.com/news/krabi/koh-phi-phi-has-to-address-critical-water-problems (accessed 7.27.19).
TRF, 2011. IPCC &TARC Report: State of Knowledge on the World and Thailand's Climate Change. T-GLOUB, Thailand Research Fund, Bangkok.
World Bank, 2019. Homepage | World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal [WWW Document]. Clim. Change Knowl. Portal. URL https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/ (accessed 5.11.19).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Manuscript submitted to ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism has to be an original work of the author(s), contains no element of plagiarism, and has never been published or is not being considered for publication in other journals. The author(s) retain the copyright of the content published in ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism. There is no need for request or consultation for future re-use and re-publication of the content as long as the author and the source are cited properly.