AFECT

     
Many tour companies financially profit from the tremendous culture of hill tribe communities. This is good for business but for the fragile traditional cultures tourists want to see, its the beginning of community erosion and the strain of development.

A main focus of our work in Chiang Rai is to provide much-needed information about the real costs of conventional tourism. We also work with the tribe to dispel some of the myths about life in the West that is so corrosive to cultural and individual self-esteem.

Additionally nothing is returned to the communities upon which tourism relies. The community based tourism network (AKHA- CBT) is lobbying for a tour licensing scheme to reinforce responsible tourism and a fee structure to be put back into the communities. This scheme is coordinated by AFECT but run by the villages for villages.