There are many ways to study the relationships of cultural heritage
conservation, tourist development and local livelihoods. Those ways are seen as
revitalizing culture, creating the past to attract tourists, migration, environmental
problems, global influence to local livelihoods, changing and adapting to deal with
new situations, competition to access tourist benefits, unequal benefit distribution and
social differentiation. As Luang Prabang city is considered a lived heritage, it is
selected as my research site as it is an ancient city with a culturally diverse landscape
of Lao, Vietnamese and Western cultures mixed together. While Lao has faced many
drastic socio-economic and political changes, this unique city of Luang Prabang has
not, until recently, developed into an important economic center, and has been
relatively safe from wars and modernization. One reason may be because it is located
in a mountainous area with poor accessibility. Since 1986, the Lao PDR has
introduced the Innovation Policy called Nayobai Chintanakan Mai by opening the
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