Mainland Southeast Asia: Turmoil and Peace - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 428

Since 1987, tourism has become a leading earner of
foreign exchange, outdistancing even textiles. Eco-
tourism has increased substantially among the northern
hill tribes. Sex tourism, with its accompanying risk of
AIDS, continues in Bangkok and some of the southern
resorts such as Pattaya. Unfortunately , many of the hill
tribe traditions have been compromised to suit tourist
desires, leaving substantial numbers of indigenous peo-
ples culturally marginalized. Now , much of hill tribe life
is “staged” for the tourists. The timing of work or festi-
vals is directed to fit in with tourist schedules. T Tradi-
tional lives are disrupted as the tribes are reduced to
being “objects” of tourist attention.
Thailand is gaining a name for itself in medical
tourism. Thai hospitals have an excellent reputation for
quality surgeons and high nurse-to-patient ratios. More-
over, surgery costs considerably less in Thailand. People
come from around the world for everything from heart
transplants to knee replacements to cosmetic surgery .
Customers buy packages that include luxury tours and
hotels in addition to their surgery .
Bangkok has designs on being the region' s fashion
hub as well. Thai textiles, with their ancient and complex
patterns, are unique and in great demand by designers.
The government initiated the “Bangkok Fashion City
Project” in 2004 with international fashion shows to
tempt foreign buyers and to promote tourism.
Thailand is pursuing plans to replace Singapore as
Asia' s fuel-trading and transport hub. This includes the
construction of an energy land bridge between the Indian
Ocean and the Gulf of Thailand. In January 2004, a state-
owned energy company opened a new petroleum trading
center at Sriracha, a deep-water port on Thailand' s east-
ern seaboard just southeast of Bangkok near Chon Buri.
The government plans to build a “Strategic Energy Land
Bridge,” which will include two deep-sea oil terminals
(the one at Sriracha and another at Laem Chabang just
north of Pattaya) and a pipeline for transporting oil
across the southern Thai isthmus from the Andaman Sea
to the Gulf of Thailand.
This project is of particular interest to the oil-importing
countries of China, South Korea, and Japan. Almost 70
percent of East Asia' s oil currently passes in tankers
through the Strait of Malacca, where piracy remains a
concern. Some analysts speculate that China is concerned
about a potential American blockade of the Strait of
Malacca that would cut off China' s oil imports, although
this is highly unlikely . It is estimated that the 22 million
to 25 million barrels of crude oil that East Asia imports
every day will more than double by 2020 led by China' s

community-based economy , farmers divide their
6-acre (2.4 ha) plot of land into three 30 percent
and one 10 percent portion allotted to rice, field
crop or fruit, water supply , and residence. This
first stage should enable farmers to become self-
sufficient and to pay off their debts.
In subsequent stages, farmers join to form coop-
eratives and then link up with financial and energy
sources such as commercial banks and oil compa-
nies. In the third stage, farmers will manage their
own mills and co-ops and take on joint ventures.
In the first year of the project, 1998, thousands
of villages participated in various aspects of the pro-
gram. Community markets, networks, water source
development, agricultural service centers, and civil
society activities were put into place. More than
5,000 families have participated in the New Theory
self-sufficiency project with positive results. It is
the hope of the Thai government that these pro-
grams will help farmers pay off their debts and ease
themselves out of poverty .

TO BE THE HUB OF EVERYTHING
Thailand is driving ahead to be Southeast Asia' is vehicle
hub—the “Detroit of Asia.” Car and truck manufacturing
are on the rise since several international manufacturers
such as T Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Ford, and GM
have established themselves in Thailand. The Thai auto
industry is booming with investments, with T Toyota and
Isuzu leading the market shares. These two companies
also dominate the pickup truck market, and Thailand is
second only to the United States in pickup production.
Other companies such as general Motors, Ford, and an
array of Japanese companies are in on the act. Not only
does Thailand build vehicles but also it manufactures 80
percent of their component parts. The country now has
700 automobile factories.
Thailand also plans to be the region' s aviation and
tourism hub. It has redesigned and expanded its main
Suvarnabhumi airport and has introduced an open skies
policy to allow all travelers to visit the array of historic
and cultural sites in Thailand as well as in surrounding
countries. An airport-rail link is under construction to
facilitate passengers getting into Bangkok. Chiang Mai' s
airport is being expanded, and thousands of new hotel
rooms are being built to develop this northern hub for
tourism in the tribal regions.