Developing the Tourism Sector for Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Sustainable Growth in Thailand

Abstract

Tourism is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the world economy, including Thailand. Various studies focus on the impact of tourism development on economic growth, but few studies have examined the empirical impact of tourism on poverty reduction, inclusive and sustainable growth. This chapter investigates the impact of the tourism sector on poverty reduction, inclusive growth, and sustainable growth in five regions of Thailand throughout 2009–18. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) was employed. The results show that the tourism sector (domestic and foreign) favors poverty reduction and reduces inequality; however, it negatively impacts the environment. This means that the government needs to adopt policies to promote sustainable tourism, such as investment in eco-friendly infrastructure in the tourism sector to improve energy and environmental efficiency and at the same time create jobs for local economies.