This research examines tourism in Nan Province of Thailand under the framework of the Seven Greens initiative launched by Tourism Authority of Thailand, of which the objectives are to prepare Nan as a tourist destination without adversely affecting the area. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative and review the status of green tourism in Nan, a living ancient city rich in tourism resources, but not yet a well-known tourist destination. The hypotheses were that the government's program is not impactful enough in persuading tourism stakeholders to reduce their activities' impact on the environment and that there is a lack of awareness and knowledge among tourism providers and tourists. The research relied on data collected from published materials, publications of the Thai government, the site visit, surveys and interviews with relevant stakeholders. One main finding was that Nan has yet to reach its optimum sustainability level, based on the standards of the "Seven Greens" concept, which requires behavioral implications and operational participation. The results have shown involvement among tourism service providers, the local government and the local community to be inadequate and unbalanced. Moreover, the findings made an important contribution in four areas yet to reach the required level and needing to be improved, namely, infrastructure, legal framework, human resources, and people's contributive actions. It is evident that despite the people's awareness and determination, the message of the "Seven Greens" and the government's advisories were not conveyed as effectively and were not as impactful as could have been the case. Efforts to strengthen community and personal awareness and persuade more people to adopt these concepts are still needed to enhance sustainability and to set an excellent role model for other cities in the world.
Keywords: Ecotourism, Nan, Nan tourism, Seven Greens, Sustainable Tourism, Thailand Tourism, Tourism, Tourism development
1 INTRODUCTION
Modem tourism have traditionally aimed at meeting tourists' desires to experience different natural attractions, man-made attractions and cultural exploration. Such activities traditionally exert considerable pressure on the natural and cultural resources, which must therefore be maintained and protected against decay. While tourist activities have contributed to the urbanization of many natural areas and the development of many indigenous societies in the country, this has recently been seen as a threat since many of those natural areas are being harmed far beyond repair and the cultures are being altered if not already decayed. Thailand is considered among the world's top tourism destinations, due to the rich nature it has to offer to global tourists. The tourism industry in Thailand creates a major income resource for the nation and also attracts development in other fields such as transportation, trade, and other businesses. At the same time, the Thai public and the government have been increasingly aware in recent years of the adverse impact of tourism on their cultures and natural resources. Accordingly, many initiatives sponsored by the government and private advocates are currently active to support the enhancement and development of green tourism in Thailand. In 2008, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) launched the "Thai Tourism against Global Wanning" Environment Conservation Declaration Project to alert the relevant parties more closely to environmental issues. Under the Environmental Conservation Declaration, the Seven Greens concept has been determined as a guideline for a conservation effort and greenhouse gas reduction for all relevant parties.
2 THE SEVEN GREENS INITIATIVE BY TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND
The Seven Greens initiative is an example of the efforts made by the Thai government to enhance sustainability in tourism and is described by the figure below:
The Seven Greens concept was developed around tourism elements in 2009 and has behavioral implications and an operational framework or guidelines towards environment preservation and greenhouse gas reduction for different parties in different sectors as follows:
1) Green Heart
Those involved in every sector of the tourism industry must have appropriate attitudes, feelings, thoughts, perception and awareness concerning the value of the environment. They should also act to preserve and restore the environment as well as reducing greenhouse gases with proper knowledge, understanding and methods.
2) Green Logistics
The means of journeying and taking public transportation services for tourism from tourists' homes to tourist attractions must be either energy-saving or involve the usage of alternative energy to reduce greenhouse gases and preserve the environment.
3) Green Attractions/Destinations
Tourist attractions must be managed according to the sustainable development policy framework and implementation, and must have clearly committed to environmental preservation as well as reducing greenhouse gases with appropriate means.
4) Green Communities
Community tourist attractions must have integrated tourism management sustainably in both urban and rural areas. They must include implementation that focuses on environmental conservation, particularly the preservation of communities' unique culture and ways of life.
5) Green Activities
Tourism activities are in line and in harmony with the value of tourist destinations' resources and environment. They are entertaining or fun, while also giving tourists the opportunity to learn new experiences in a way that minimizes any adverse impact on natural resources and the environment.
6) Green Service
The servicing styles of tourism service providers impress tourists with consistent quality together with a determination to preserve the environment and reduce greenhouse gases in their services.
7) Green Plus
Individuals, groups and organizations agree to cooperate in contributing their physical energy, ideas, and funds to conserve and restore tourist attractions' environments, or in mitigating the threat of global warming.
According to TAT, the Seven Greens initiative call for the active participation and support of all tourism stakeholders in order to maintain the balance between tourism promotion and environmental protection to ensure long-term sustainability.
3 TOURISM IN NAN PROVINCE
Nan is one of the two pilot projects for the Seven Greens initiative, Samui Green Island Project and Nan Province Project. There is growing interest in Nan as it is regarded as an ancient but a living city (under its motto "Nan, Living Old Town") and is rich in natural and cultural resources. It is also considered a very safe tourist destination and is very well suited as a tourist destination for tourists from all places. Based on an interview with Nan Tourist Police in August 2012, the crime rate for tourists as of then stood at 0%.
Nan covers an area of 11,472.072 square kilometres and is located 668 kilometres from the capital city of Bangkok. It is a town with an abundance and mixture of cultures from the high mountain ranges to the plain. It was as ancient as the Sukhothai Kingdom and was under the continuous ruling of 64 kings. The northern and eastern boundaries are shared with Lao People's Democratic Republic.
There are numerous tourist attractions in Nan, including temples, caves, national parks, mountains, villages, waterfalls, natural formations, fairs, festivals and the famous boat race. Despite its richness in tourism resources, the city is not yet a well-developed tourist destination. As a result, provincial authorities and its local people are working to ensure that appropriate measures and controls are put in place to protect the province from the negative effects caused by growing tourism activities. Despite these efforts, some are still unwilling to see more tourists in the city as they are concerned about these impacts and possible management failure by the local government.
A tourist survey conducted by Nan Statistics Bureau between December 2010 and September 2011 showed that 79.0% wanted to return to Nan the following year, 19.2% intended to return soon, and 1.8% said they would not return. The reasons were dissatisfaction with services such as restaurants and cafes that exploited the holiday season, while other negative factors included insufficient hotel services, hotel conditions that differed from those specified at the time of booking, and insufficient public toilets for ladies in the national parks.
Based on the survey, the number of tourists on a monthly average from December 2010 to September 2011 was 57,920, of which 99% were Thais and 1% was foreigners. The numbers each month have been fluctuating, partly due to political unrest throughout the year as well as a major flood in Nan in June 2011. Subsequently, the number of tourists rose again and is expected to peak every December, the holiday season. Regardless of the externalities, it can be observed that the number of tourists is generally low in non-winter seasons, which indicates that the city is reliant on seasonality and that tourism in this city has yet to reach its optimum sustainability.
4 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SEVEN GREENS INITIATIVE IN NAN PROVINCE
In May 2011, the author conducted a survey in Nan, in which a total of 46 individuals and 31 tourism service providers participated.
20% of the individual respondents went to Nan because they saw the advertisement of TAT's Seven Greens. The remaining 80% had been recommended by their friends or received information about Nan from the newspaper or magazines. This figure indicates that few tourists have traveled to Nan under the influence of the Seven Greens project.
4.1 Marketing Effectiveness of the Seven Greens Initiative
When the individual respondents were asked if they had heard of the "Seven Greens" initiative, 52% answered "No", while