CHIANG MAI – Homestay accommodation on beautiful Doi Luang Chiang Dao mountain will be inspected on Saturday to ensure there is no encroachment of national forest or despoiling of the natural environment, such as occurred at overcrowded Phu Thap Boek in Phetchabun.
The joint inspection will involve officials from Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, district officials, and soldiers.
It follows complaints from villagers in Chiang Dao district about increasing construction of homestays and resorts to accommodate more tourists.
They said some homestays have upgraded their accommodation to resort style, increasing the number of units and some them encroach on the forest. This development was in breach of conditions approved by the cabinet in 1998. They were worried the increase in tourist accommodation would damage the environment.
A preliminary investigation revealed that several popular homestays had expanded and that some were in breach of the set conditions, which allow each family to operate a homestay accommodating 8-10 tourists, to pad out the income they earn from farming.
However, homestay owners insisted the operators were all local people or relatives who had inherited the land. There were no outside investors developing resorts in the area, they said.
Asapa Laomee, 42, owner of View Doi Suay homestay, said local people aimed to conserve the forest and their way of life, and therefore would not allow outsiders to buy land or stay permanently in the village.
He said when the authorities first regulated Phu Thap Boek many investors had offered high prices to buy the land in Doi Luang, but the people refused to sell and instead decided to cooperate in managing the homestays themselves.
Homestays had expanded to service more tourists wanting to the natural beauty of the mountain. However, there were no luxury units, they had built the new units using bamboo. Authorities were welcome to examine the homestay business, which had only 19 operators, they said.
Sarawut Worapong, Chiang Dao district chief, said many people in the area jointly developed the homestays in their villages, offering tourists a chance to enjoy their way of life.
The district office was satisfied if the operation was actually a homestay for the purpose of earning extra income, but the area could not be used for resort development.
“There are 16 operators with 70 accommodation units that will be inspected to ensure there are no nominees operating on behalf of large businesses and no development of permanent units. We don’t want to create Phu Thap Boek 2,” he said.
Sattha Kunthong, chief of Chiang Dao Animal Sanctuary, will lead the team to inspect the homestay operations on Doi Luang Chiang Dao on Saturday. They will use survey maps to ensure there is no forest encroachment.
Any accommodation unit found to be outside the permitted area must be torn down, he said.
Owners had 45 days to comply and ensure they ran only a homestay operation, although some owners were requesting 90-120 days because they want to benefit from the high tourist season over the next few months.