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Designing a Sustainable Entrance Fee System for Thailand's National Parks

1998-06-19

[Photo: Mae Sa Waterfall in Suthep-Pui National Park.]

In Thailand, more than 80 forest reserves have been declared national parks, or about 13% of the country's total land area. Besides serving a vital conservation role, these parks provide valuable recreational and educational opportunities for Thais and foreign tourists.

Many Thai parks are under threat, however, due to encroachment by local villagers, forest fires, and soil erosion. National parks are also threatened by pollution generated by villages located inside the parks and by visiting tourists.

The costs of managing Thailand's national park system are now met through the government's central budget, as well as park entrance fees. But neither source provides sufficient revenues. One reason is that national park management competes with other development activities for funding, and is not considered a high priority. Moreover, revenue from entrance fees is very low because national parks typically charge only 5 Baht per person (approximately US$0.13, as of April 1998). Current fees bear no relationship to park services and facilities — and some parks charge no entrance fee.

Improving entrance fees

Enter Adis Israngkura, an economist at the National Institute of Development Administration, who has completed a study designed to establish a framework for an improved entrance fee system. The study, supported by the International Development Research Centre's Economy and Environment Program for South East Asia (EEPSEA), is being used by forestry experts, who are preparing Master Plans for each park. These plans will address such issues as human settlement within the parks, forest degradation, conservation, land use, and tourism.

"Entrance fees could be adjusted to reflect the value of recreational services. This will help raise revenue for management and the improvement of facilities," says Dr Israngkura. "Revenue generated this way can be used to improve services and facilities. Most importantly, it will help ensure that recreational services provided by national parks will be sustained for future generations."

Ranking parks

Dr Israngkura asked respondents to rank four hypothetical trips involving three recreational areas, according to their preference for various recreational attributes. Consumer ranking preferences were then recorded and used to calculate an appropriate entrance fee for each area. The study focussed on recreational areas in two national parks — Doi Inthanon and Suther-Pui — which are both located near the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai.

Doi Inthanon National Park features the highest point in Thailand (2,565 metres), waterfalls, alpine meadows, hill tribe villages, caves, and other attractions. Each year, between 600,000 and 800,000 people visit the park, which generated revenues of 5 million Baht from entrance fees and vehicle charges in 1995. Current policy prevents this money from being used directly for park management purposes.

Tourist attractions

Tourist attractions at Suthep-Pui National Park include Doi Suthep Temple and Mae Sa Waterfall. In 1997, the temple charged no entrance fee, while the waterfall charged 5 Baht per person. In 1995, about 1.9 million visitors paid fees of 2 million Baht during their stay.

The study recommended that national park entrance fees reflect both the recreational benefits and the level of services they provide to visitors. For example, at Doi Inthanon, Dr Israngkura proposed a basic entrance fee of 40 Baht per visitor and additional fees for the use of specific recreational services. For Suthep-Pui National Park, he proposed an entrance fee of 20 Baht at the Mae Sa Waterfall but no fee at Doi Suthep Temple, because of its cultural significance and low value of recreational services.

Larger role

The study concluded that entrance fee revenues could play a much larger role in supporting the management and improvement of Thailand's national parks. Dr Israngkura's approach may ultimately be adopted by National Park authorities to determine appropriate entrance fees for all of the country's national parks.

Catherine Wheeler is a freelance writer and editor based in Singapore. (Photo: A. Israngkura)

Resource Person:

Adis Israngkura, The School of Development Economics, National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Sukaphiban 2 Road, Klong-chan, Bangkok 10240, Thailand; Tel: (662) 377-7400 ext. 2459; Fax: (662) 375-8842; E-mail: adis@nida.nida.ac.th

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