Thailand Tourism

Description

Understand Thailand’s important symbols, icons, and social practices Thailand’s culture is unlike any other. Travelers attempting to fully immerse themselves in all that this tourist destination has to offer find it essential to become culturally sensitive. Thailand Tourism provides readers with an indispensable overview of this remarkable land of contrasts. This invaluable text... Read more

Understand Thailand’s important symbols, icons, and social practices

Thailand’s culture is unlike any other. Travelers attempting to fully immerse themselves in all that this tourist destination has to offer find it essential to become culturally sensitive. Thailand Tourism provides readers with an indispensable overview of this remarkable land of contrasts. This invaluable text reveals the South East Asian country, its history, its culture, and its people’s fun-loving perspective of life. The importance of Thai symbols and their meaning, icons and social practices, its proud history of its constitutional monarchy, and its numerous religious temples are examined in detail. This book offers tourists and students of tourism an informative, realistic view of the people, food, entertainment, and scenery of one of the most exotic lands in the world.

Thailand was never colonized by a foreign power. Because of the lack of outside influence, this South East Asian nation has fostered a culture thrillingly different from others. Thailand Tourism offers a rare, in-depth look at this unique country and provides the information travelers need to know to easily move about and make their trip memorable. The guide includes helpful typical tourist itineraries illustrating what to expect when booking plans. The Thai viewpoints on sexuality, marriage, and societal changes are analyzed in detail. The issue of violence is discussed, including its ingrained presence in everyday life. Helpful tables detail demographic information from several countries to shed light not only on where travelers originate, but also to study the contrasts with the Thai culture. The book also presents a primer on the semiotics of tourism, and then discusses significant signs and symbols infused in Thai culture including Thai smiles, the royal kingdom of Thailand, Buddhist monks, Buddha statues, and Wats (temples). The importance of elephants in modern Thailand is explored, as well as the importance of the nation’s ethnic tribes and the cultural significance of the Wai. Thai food, the Thai sex industry, and a comparison between Thailand and America are also examined. The final section presents author Arthur Asa Berger’s own notes of his travels throughout Thailand with cogent perspectives of the country as a ’monoculture’.

Topics in Thailand Tourism include:

a theoretical discussion of tourism
statistical data on tourism in Thailand
typical tourist itineraries in Thailand
perceptions of Thailand in travel literature
violence in Thai society
analysis of Thai culture such as Thai smile, Wats, Buddha statues

Discover an exotic, spiritual, sensual country like no other. Thailand Tourism is a must read for anyone planning to visit Thailand, students of tourism, and students of Thailand’s culture. Read less

Foreword (Dr. Darunee Hirunruk)
Preface
Acknowledgments
PART 1: TOURISM IN THAILAND
Chapter 1. Tourism, Travelers, and Thailand
Definitions of Tourism
Tourism As Adventure
Kinds of Tourism
Uses and Gratifications of Tourism
Tourism and the Libido
People on the Move: Statistics on Tourism in Europe and Asia
Tourist Arrivals in Thailand by Nationality
World’s Top International Tourism Earners
World’s Top Fifteen International Tourism Spenders
Vacation Days Per Year in Selected Countries
What Tourists Spend in Thailand
Chapter 2. Typical Tourist Itineraries in Thailand
The Classic Tours of Thailand
Commonalties of the Four Tours
A Suggested Tour of Thailand by a Thai Tourism Student
Intrepid Tours of Thailand
The Snake of Terrorism in the Paradise of Thailand and Other Problems
Chapter 3. Images of Thailand in Travel Literature
John Gunther’s Siam
The Lonely Planet Guidebooks
Slogans
Chapter 4. Violence and Marriage: Two Aspects of Thai Character, Culture, and Personality
The “Happy-Go-Lucky” Thais and the Burmese
Violence in Thai Society
Marriage in Thailand As Reflected in Thai Comic Books
Cultural Explanations
PART II: SEMIOTIC SIAM
Chapter 5. A Primer on the Semiotics of Tourism
Saussure on Signs
Peirce’s Semiotics: Icons, Indexes, and Symbols
Roland Barthes’s Empire of Signs
Chapter 6. Signs and Symbols in Thailand
The Thai Smile
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand
Bangkok, “City of Angels”
The Buddhist Monks of Thailand
Buddha Statues
Elephants and the Thai Psyche
Ethnic Tribes
Wats (Temples)
The Thai Wai
Thai Food
Thai Prostitutes and the Sex Industry
Thailand and America: A Study in Otherness
PART III: THAILAND ON MY MIND
Chapter 7. Notes from My Thailand Journal
Arrival in Bangkok
Cultural Clash
Chiang Mai Adventures
The Pleasure of Chance Encounters
Notes on Signs and Symbols in Thailand
On the Night Ferry to Ko Samui
Speculations on Typical Tourist Activities
Exotic California :High School Subcultures in California
The Night Market at Hua Hin
Chapter 8: A Journey of Ten Thousand Miles Ends with a Step
Thailand As a Monoculture
Ian Buruma on Thai Identity
The Tourist As Amateur Anthropologist
Thailand As a Text
Thailand and the Human Spirit
References
Index

Author(s)

Biography

Arthur Asa Berger

Thailand Tourism

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Secure Shopping Payment Options