Catalysing sustainable tourism: The case of Chiang Mai, Thailand

The city of Chiang Mai implemented a non-motorised transport (NMT) system to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and address urban pressures caused by rapid growth and tourism. This initiative provided co-benefits including improved air quality, reduced traffic congestion, and income generation for the urban poor. While the project served as a catalyst for broader low-carbon action and sustainable land-use practices within the city, it also highlighted a trade-off: local initiatives can reduce in situ emissions but cannot address the emissions generated by tourists traveling to the destination.

• Chiang Mai introduced a non-motorised transport (NMT) system to combat the environmental strains of rapid urban growth and tourism, specifically targeting greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, waste management, and traffic congestion, while simultaneously creating jobs for the urban poor.
• The NMT initiative demonstrates that climate mitigation can provide multiple local development co-benefits, including enhancing air quality, reducing traffic congestion, generating income for the poor, and ensuring the long-term viability of the tourism sector.
• Small-scale climate mitigation projects can act as catalysts for more ambitious city-wide goals, leading to expanded NMT networks, sustainable land-use practices, and low-carbon actions in other sectors.
• A tension exists in green tourism where local mitigation efforts address emissions within the destination but fail to account for the emissions produced by tourists during their travel to the location.

APA

Kusakabe, K., Shrestha, P., Kumar, S., & Suwanprik, T. (2014). Catalysing sustainable tourism: The case of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/resource/sustainable-tourism-thailand

Chicago

Kusakabe, Kyoko, Pujan Shrestha, S. Kumar, and Trinnawat Suwanprik. Catalysing sustainable tourism: The case of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. https://cdkn.org/resource/sustainable-tourism-thailand.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kusakabe |first1=Kyoko |last2=Shrestha |first2=Pujan |last3=Kumar |first3=S. |last4=Suwanprik |first4=Trinnawat |title=Catalysing sustainable tourism: The case of Chiang Mai, Thailand |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=23 May 2014 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/sustainable-tourism-thailand |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kusakabe2014catalysing, author = {Kusakabe, Kyoko and Shrestha, Pujan and Kumar, S. and Suwanprik, Trinnawat}, title = {{Catalysing sustainable tourism: The case of Chiang Mai, Thailand}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/sustainable-tourism-thailand}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }