Effects of Urban Tourism from Urbanization in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand

Abstract

             This article aims to study the effects of urban tourism from urbanization in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. The sample is the stakeholder agency and entrepreneur who interviews qualitative research of 13 locally and regionally purposely sampled. According to the study, it has been found that the economy of the province has been urbanized resulting in growth-led tourism, and the urbanization and the number of activities in the urban area tend to increase, as well as the number of tourists which is continuously increasing. The tourists are clustered in the urban area. Most of them are MICE groups, business groups, public agency groups, those who travel by private car, those who travel for recreation and those who travel to transit to other nearby provinces. In terms of the effect of urban tourism from urbanization, it results in a combination of old city and modern city, and traditional cultures are being preserved. The effects are the result of development, social and economic change, exchange of learning and foreign cultures and advance development.