Designing Low-Carbon Creative Tourism Routes: The Case of Chang Moi, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Demonstrates a mixed-method approach for carbon-footprint assessment in tourism routes, useful for sustainable tourism and LCA researchers.

🏢実務担当者:Provides actionable insights for tourism operators and destination managers to design low-carbon itineraries and identify high-impact activities.

🏛政策担当者:Supports evidence-based tourism policy for low-carbon development in heritage districts, relevant to local and regional planning.

Chang Moi Subdistrict is in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. It is a subdistrict characterized by cultural heritage and everyday community life. The study pursued three objectives: (1) to explore the tourism context of Chang Moi together with tourist attitudes and behaviors; (2) to develop creative tourism routes and evaluate their carbon implications; and (3) to propose appropriate routes and activities for low-carbon creative tourism development. A mixed-method design was employed, comprising qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, a quantitative tourist survey (n = 408), route development, an LCA-informed greenhouse gas assessment, route testing, and synthesis of findings. Three representative route programs were developed: a one-day walking route for international tourists, a one-day private-car route for Thai tourists, and a two-day mixed route. The carbon-footprint results showed that the one-day routes generated substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions (Program 1 = 10.58 kg CO2 eq; Program 2 = 10.82 kg CO2 eq) than the two-day overnight route (Program 3 = 31.52 kg CO2 eq). Waste management was the largest contributor in the one-day routes, whereas Program 3 showed a more distributed emission profile across waste management, creative activities, food and beverage services, and accommodation. Among the assessed activities, flower arranging generated the highest carbon footprint. Overall, the findings indicate that low-carbon creative tourism development in Chang Moi should emphasize compact and walkable route structures, lower-impact creative activities, sustainability-oriented interpretation, and community-based implementation. The study provides an evidence-based basis for tourism planning in Chang Moi and offers implications for other compact creative districts pursuing low-carbon tourism transition.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.3390/su18115505first seen 2026-06-04 04:56:40