The appearance of tourism in Thailand dates from the late 192Os,
even if royal sponsorship of tourism can be said to have started in
the late 19th century with the modernizer King Chulalongkorn
(Meyer 1988:61-63). An English-language guide to Bangkok written
by a Danish adviser and published by the Siamese Royal State
Railway Department (Seidenfaden 1927) had three editions between
1927 and 1932. Since tourism was then eminently an elite activity,
it tended to have elitist goals, in the range of what today qualifies
as cultural tourism. Thus, in the guide’s suggested program, the
tourist was, first of all, “advised to visit the more important temples,
palaces and monuments”. The itinerary of a week’s sightseeing in
Bangkok included places that today hardly appeal to foreign tourists,
such as the National Library and the University, alongside still
prominent attractions such as the Grand Palace with the Temple of
the Emerald Buddha, the floating market and the ruins of Ayutthaya
(Seidenfaden 1927:47-53).