The study argued that not only can tourism relieve the shortage of foreign exchange constraining industrial expansion and alleviate the growing problem of urban unemployment, but in the long run tourism will provide a price- and incomeelastic substitute for staple exports facing less favorable demand conditions. Tourism expansion in Thailand certainly creates jobs for unskilled workers, and this has a direct poverty alleviation impact. However, much of the gain from tourism growth accrues to factors other than unskilled labor, so income distribution may actually worsen. In addition, low-skilled jobs in other sectors may be destroyed, and returns to agricultural land, from which the poor derive a considerable share of their income, may fall as tourism expands (Wattanakuljarus and Coxhead, 2008). Government efforts to promote tourism growth may thus be inconsistent with the goal of reduced income inequality.