Local government capacity and tourism development in Thailand.
type: CreativeWork
description: Tambon Administrative Organizations (TAOs) are a relatively new tier of local government in the rural areas of Thailand, and these organizations have responsibilities for tourism and rural development. They reflect an increasing emphasis in the country on decentralizing policy-making and service delivery to local populations and on encouraging greater local democracy and accountability. In the past governance in Thailand has been highly centralized. Inevitably, there were some tensions between ensuring that these local government institutions met local requirements at the same time as ensuring there was integration and coordination with national government priorities and expectations. The study examines the institutional capacity of the TAOs in relation to their tourism and associated rural development responsibilities. There is an assessment of the extent to which these organizations were able to assume their responsibilities for tourism-related activities, including the extent to which they secured the necessary funding, expertise, internal organizational resources, political support from higher tiers of government, popular support from local communities, and wide participation from local actors. In order to examine these issues the study developed a conceptual framework which relates the institutional capacity of the TAOs to their relations with external policy networks and with local socio-economic networks within their local communities. An actor-oriented approach is used to explore the varying views held on these issues by the many different actors that interacted with the TAOs or were affected by them. Thus, there was an evaluation of these issues from the perspectives of TAO politicians and staff, from other government officials, and from business people and local residents living and working within the TAO areas. These approaches were used for in-depth examinations of the issues and processes for two case study TAOs in Thailand. It was found that actors in …
abstract: Tambon Administrative Organizations (TAOs) are a relatively new tier of local government in the rural areas of Thailand, and these organizations have responsibilities for tourism and rural development. They reflect an increasing emphasis in the country on decentralizing policy-making and service delivery to local populations and on encouraging greater local democracy and accountability. In the past governance in Thailand has been highly centralized. Inevitably, there were some tensions between ensuring that these local government institutions met local requirements at the same time as ensuring there was integration and coordination with national government priorities and expectations. The study examines the institutional capacity of the TAOs in relation to their tourism and associated rural development responsibilities. There is an assessment of the extent to which these organizations were able to assume their responsibilities for tourism-related activities, including the extent to which they secured the necessary funding, expertise, internal organizational resources, political support from higher tiers of government, popular support from local communities, and wide participation from local actors. In order to examine these issues the study developed a conceptual framework which relates the institutional capacity of the TAOs to their relations with external policy networks and with local socio-economic networks within their local communities. An actor-oriented approach is used to explore the varying views held on these issues by the many different actors that interacted with the TAOs or were affected by them. Thus, there was an evaluation of these issues from the perspectives of TAO politicians and staff, from other government officials, and from business people and local residents living and working within the TAO areas. These approaches were used for in-depth examinations of the issues and processes for two case study TAOs in Thailand. It was found that actors in …
author: Chansawang, Rochaporn.
language: en
date published: 2010
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:31:18Z
provider: Sheffield Hallam University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Sheffield Hallam University (United Kingdom).