Bolaven Plateau : Experiences, Values, and Development Pathways of Cross-Border Recreation Areas for Thai Tourists
Keywords:
Bolaven, Nature-Based Recreation, Thai Tourists, Recreational Value, Sustainable Area ManagementAbstract
In an era when people seek closer connections with nature and meaningful experiences, the Bolaven Plateau in Champasak Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic, has been recognized as a cross-border natural area with recreational potential and a distinct resemblance to the Thai cultural context. This article aims to 1) analyze the components and dynamics of Thai tourists’ nature-based recreational experiences on the Bolaven Plateau; 2) synthesize and evaluate the recreational values that emerge in psychological, social, cultural, environmental, and cultural identity dimensions through participation in recreational activities; and 3) propose community-based approaches to designing and developing sustainable recreational spaces, grounded in user-centered design and integrative understandings of site potential, ecosystems, and international cooperation. Drawing upon academic literature, field data, and conceptual interpretations in contemporary recreation, the findings indicate that Thai tourists highly value pristine nature, a pleasant cool climate, and local cultural traditions that resonate with Thai roots. These qualities foster positive experiences in terms of psychological restoration, flow states, social connections, cultural learning, and the cultivation of environmental awareness. The study further highlights the pivotal role of local communities as hosts and co-designers of activities through community-based tourism, cultural transmission, and participatory environmental management. Sustainable recreational design, therefore, requires the integration of ecosystem-based management with community participation, together with mechanisms for cross-border and ASEAN-level collaboration. Such an approach positions the Bolaven Plateau as a model for recreation management that balances conservation, development, and the sustainable enhancement of quality of life.
References
Boungnarasy, M. (2022). Lancang-Mekong regional tourism cooperation mechanism: Towards a regional frame from Lao PDR perspective. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4001318
Buckley, R. (2004). Environmental impacts of ecotourism. CABI.
Chindaprasert, K., Yasothornsrikul, P., & Esichaikul, R. (2015). The effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty at the Thailand-Laos (PDR) border. Asia-Pacific journal of innovation in hospitality and tourism (APJIHT), 4, 1–17.
Delang, C. O., Toro, M., & Charlet‐Phommachanh, M. (2013). Coffee, mines and dams: conflicts over land in the Bolaven plateau, southern Lao PDR. The geographical journal, 179(2), 150–164.
Discover Laos Today. (2024). Bolaven plateau, coffee, waterfalls and ethnic villages. Discover Laos rediscover yourself. https://discoverlaos.today/post/bolaven-plateau-coffee-waterfalls-and-ethnic-villages
Draper, J. (2015). Towards a curriculum for the Thai Lao of northeast Thailand?. Current issues in language planning, 16(3), 238–258.
Draper, J., & Kamnuansilpa, P. (2018). The Thai Lao question: The reappearance of Thailand’s ethnic Lao community and related policy questions. Asian ethnicity, 19(1), 81–105.
Egner, L. E., Sütterlin, S., & Calogiuri, G. (2020). Proposing a framework for the restorative effects of nature through conditioning: Conditioned restoration theory. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(18), 6792. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186792
Gnoth, J., & Matteucci, X. (2014). A phenomenological view of the behavioural tourism research literature. International journal of culture, tourism and hospitality research, 8(1), 3–21.
González-García, M., Álvarez, J. C., Pérez, E. Z., Fernandez-Carriba, S., & López, J. G. (2021). Feasibility of a brief online mindfulness and compassion-based intervention to promote mental health among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mindfulness, 12(7), 1685-1695.
Haukeland, J. V., Fredman, P., Tyrväinen, L., Siegrist, D., & Lindberg, K. (2023). Prospects for nature-based tourism: Identifying trends with commercial potential. Journal of ecotourism, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2023.2178444
ISO, I. (2019). 9241-210: 2019 Ergonomics of human-system interaction–Part 210: human-centred design for interactive systems. International organization for standardization. https://www.iso.org/standard/77520.html
Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of environmental psychology, 15(3), 169–182.
Kay, P. L. (2009). Cultural experience tourist motives dimensionality: A cross-cultural study. Journal of hospitality marketing & management, 18(4), 329–371.
Keosiphandone, P. (2014). Connecting upland peasants to markets and socio-cultural change in Bolaven plateau, southern part of Laos. IOSR journal of humanities and social science, 19(10), 15-24.
Kleinod, M. (2017). The recreational frontier: Ecotourism in Laos as ecorational instrumentality. Universitätsverlag Göttingen. https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2017-1006
Laos Tourism. (2025). Bolaven plateau waterfall. Laos tourism. https://www.laostourism.org/laos-things-to-see/bolaven-plateau-waterfall/
Li, Z., Zhang, H., Xu, Y., Fang, T., Wang, H., & Tang, G. A. (2024). How does cultural distance affect tourism destination choice? Evidence from the correlation between regional culture and tourism flow. Applied geography, 166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2024.103261
Liu, B., Moyle, B., & Kralj, A. (2025). A decade of progress in tourist experience research: Five macro-level trends. Anatolia, 36(2), 252–268.
Mandić, A. (2019). Nature-based solutions for sustainable tourism development in protected natural areas: A review. Environment systems and decisions, 39(3), 249–268.
Marini Govigli, V., Alkhaled, S., Arnesen, T., Barlagne, C., Bjerck, M., Burlando, C., ... Górriz-Mifsud, E. (2020). Testing a framework to co-construct social innovation actions: Insights from seven marginalized rural areas. Sustainability, 12(4), 1441. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041441
Mihalič, T., Šegota, T., Knežević Cvelbar, L., & Kuščer, K. (2016). The influence of the political environment and destination governance on sustainable tourism development: A study of Bled, Slovenia. Journal of sustainable tourism, 24(11), 1489–1505.
Nonthapot, S., Choochote, K., & Thawornwiriyatrakul, W. (2025). Impact of tourism image and motivation of Thai and Chinese tourists for traveling in Lao people's democratic republic by Laos-China railway. Geojournal of tourism and geosites, 59(2), 628–637. https://doi.org/10.30892/gtg.59210-1442
Ounmany, K. (2014). Community-based ecotourism in Laos: Benefits and burdens sharing among stakeholders. [Doctoral dissertation, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Science]. https://epub.boku.ac.at/obvbokhs/content/titleinfo/1930287/full.pdf
Phommavong, S., Douangphachanh, M., & Svengsucksa, K. (2019). Coffee commercialization in the Bolaven plateau in the southern of Lao PDR. In Coffee-Production and Research. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90105
Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (2013). The experience economy: Past, present and future. In J. Sundbo, & F. Sorensen (Eds.), Handbook on the experience economy (pp. 21–44). Edward Elgar.
Ponpern, S., & Phaengsoi, K. (2013). Cooperative development model to promote tourism in Thailand and Laos in the border zone of Ubon Ratchatani province and Champasak. Asian social science, 9(11), 237-242. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n11p237
Reisinger, Y., & Moufakkir, O. (2015). Cultural issues in tourism, hospitality and leisure in the Arab/Muslim world. International journal of culture, tourism and hospitality research, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-01-2015-0003
Rezapouraghdam, H., Akhshik, A., Strzelecka, M., Roudi, S., & Ramkissoon, H. (2024). Fascination, place attachment, and environmental stewardship in cultural tourism destinations. Tourism recreation research, 50(7), 1577–1593. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2024.2434793
Scopelliti, M., Carrus, G., & Bonaiuto, M. (2019). Is it really nature that restores people? A comparison with historical sites with high restorative potential. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02742
Tang, R., Zhao, X., & Guo, Z. (2024). Place perception and restorative experience of recreationists in the natural environment of rural tourism. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1341956. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1341956
Toro, M. (2012). Coffee markets, smallholder credit, and landscape change in the Bolaven plateau region, Laos. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Miami]. https://scholarship.miami.edu/view/pdfCoverPage?instCode=01UOML_INST&filePid=13355508800002976&download=true
Tussyadiah, I. P. (2014). Toward a theoretical foundation for experience design in tourism. Journal of travel research, 53(5), 543-564. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287513513172
UNWTO. (2025). Sustainable development. UN Tourism. https://www.unwto.org/sustainable-development
Vada, S., Prentice, C., & Hsiao, A. (2019). The influence of tourism experience and well-being on place attachment. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 47, 322–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.12.007
Vergara Romero, A., Durán-Román, J. L., JIMBER-DEL RIO, J. A., & Collado-González, J. C. (2025). Business management of sustainable destinations and its effect on ecotourism entrepreneurship to mitigate overtourism. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05149-4
Von Lindern, E., Lymeus, F., & Hartig, T. (2017). The restorative environment: A complementary concept for salutogenesis studies. In M.B. Mittelmark et al. (Eds.), The handbook of Salutogenesis, (pp. 181–195). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04600-6_19
Wang, G., Huang, L., Xu, C., He, K., Shen, K., & Liang, P. (2022). Analysis of the mediating role of place attachment in the link between tourists’ authentic experiences of, involvement in, and loyalty to rural tourism. Sustainability, 14(19), 12795. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912795
Wang, P., Zhou, B., Ya, J., Han, L., & Zhu, Y. (2025). The impact of perceived restorative destination environments on tourists’ willingness-to-pay for environmental protection. Scientific reports, 15(1), 19989. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03403-y
Wearing, S., & Neil, J. (1999). Ecotourism: Impacts, potentials and possibilities. Routledge.
Wisaijorn, T. (2019). The inescapable territorial trap in international relations: Borderland studies and the Thai-Lao border from 1954 to the Present. Geopolitics, 24(1), 194–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2017.1358166
Yasmine, H. T., & Atmojo, W. T. (2022). UI/UX design for tourism village website using the User Centered Design method. TIERS information technology journal, 3(2), 100–114. https://doi.org/10.38043/tiers.v3i2.3871
Zhang, Z., & Guo, M. (2022). Change of tourism organizations: Implications from a review of cultural tourism research. Frontiers in psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1000117
Zou, W., Wei, W., Ding, S., & Xue, J. (2022). The relationship between place attachment and tourist loyalty: A meta-analysis. Tourism management perspectives, 43, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.100983
