The purpose of this article was to examine a wide range of impacts of tourism on
livelihood of indigenous residents, Urak Lawoi, in Lipe Island. Qualitative and quantitative
approaches were employed for this study. Data collection was designed to analyze the degree
of impacts using structured questionnaires, field observation, and interviews. The historical
evidence reveals that Urak Lawoi is the first group of inhabitants in the island to claim the
new border between Thailand and Malaysia living on land. There are 4 main periods of
tourism evolution in the island which are 1) period of settlement (1897-1907), 2) period of
national marine park and local administrative influence (1936-1982), 3) the period of change
from fishery through tourism (1994-2005), and 4) period of flourishing tourism development
(2005-present). A total of 128 questionnaires were collected from the community of Urak
Lawoi. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that tourism
had a number of impacts on livelihood of Urak Lawoi. The study indicated that the most
reported negative impacts of community were increased sewages, bad relationship with the
park officials, and drug addiction of youth. The study also indicated the positive impacts by
local respondents with travelling conveniently to the mainland , earning more income, and
having alternative tourism-related occupations, respectively.