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1 Ethnic minorities and street vendors in Thailandâs tourist areas
Highlanders in the city
Visitors to Thailandâs urban and beachside tourist areas in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, or Pattaya notice the presence of colourful and predominantly female souvenir vendors offering self-made and mass-manufactured products. A high percentage of these vendors are members of the highland ethnic minority group of Akha who over the last decades have migrated temporary â and in few cases permanently â into Thailandâs urban and beachside tourist areas. Most existing research on ethnic minorities and tourism in Southeast Asia in general (Oakes, 1997; Cohen, 2001; Cole, 2007; Yang and Wall, 2009; Phommavong and Sörensson, 2014) and in Thailand in particular (Cohen, 1989; Toyota, 1993; Michaud, 1997; Trupp, 2014; Dolezal, 2015) has been conducted in village contexts and thus hardly embraced the more recent phenomenon of âurban-based highland minoritiesâ.1
Initial research on internal migration in the Thai context focused on describing spatial mobility patterns and identifying socio-economic determinants and constraints based on the results of the national migration surveys (Goldstein and Goldstein, 1986; Husa, 1988). In addition to elaborating large data sets, anthropological village case studies were conducted. Early research viewed internal migration as a rational choice of poor rural residents to escape poverty and poor rural infrastructure, a choice that originated in a climate where national and international scholars and agencies feared population explosions in seemingly ever-growing urban areas. Bangkok rapidly grew into a dominant primate city (Husa and WohlschlĂ€gl, 1997). However, at least since the 1990s, it has become evident that migration to urban areas cannot be stopped, and organizations such as the United Nations Development Fund argued that it is equally important to improve the life of migrants as it is to stem migration (Chamratrithirong, 2007, p. 3). This understanding led to a shift from focusing on the determinants of migration to its consequences. The next phase of research discovered the concepts âmigration and developmentâ and âmigration managementâ, which took into account both the benefits and disadvantages of population movements (Chamratrithirong, 2007, p. 4). It was also increasingly recognized that rural and urban areas must be seen as interconnected rather than separated. Migration in this context is seen as a livelihood strategy in order to increase and diversify the household income (Rigg, 1998). The creation of multi-sited households and living arrangements can further enhance material and nonmaterial exchange between rural and urban areas (Schmidt-Kallert, 2012).
For a long time, migration research has ignored female migration by either excluding it completely from research agendas or dealing with it as âassociational migrationâ (Guest, 2003, p. 17). In several Southeast Asian countries, especially in Thailand, female labour migration has played a crucial role since the 1970s and eventually found its place on Thai research agendas (Piampiti, 1984). According to the Thai population census, women have outstripped men in urban-directed migration since 1980 (Osaki, 1999, p. 449). Women from Thailandâs rural areas have long played important roles in household economies as wives and daughters, have worked along with men on family farms and in agricultural labour exchanges, and have moreover been predominantly involved in market trade (Singhanetra-Renard and Prabhudhanitisarn, 1992, p. 154). Thai society also places greater expectations on women in terms of care and economic support for their parents or siblings, which in turn leads them to view job-related migration out of the village as their duty. Parents thus may encourage the urban migration of their daughters and expect economic remittances (Guest, 2003, p. 18). The study of highland ethnic minorities, however, has not (yet) been a big issue on the research agenda on internal migration in Thailand. Anthropologists and geographers seem to be predominantly engaged in village-based research, cross-border mobilities, or studying political and economic issues in the context of national and regional integration (Toyota, 1999).
This book reconstructs Akha urban migration into the souvenir business over time and space; investigates the social, economic, and political embeddedness of Akha vendors in urban tourist contexts; and analyses the socio-economic practices they pursue in order to survive and become successful at the market place. It contributes to ethnic minority studies in the Thai urban and tourism context by (1) describing and explaining the spatial expansion of Akha souvenir micro-businesses in Thailand, (2) assessing the structural obstacles confronting Akha entrepreneurs and street vendors, and (3) understanding the strategies, everyday practices, and social relations of and between unequally powerful actors related to ethnic minority tourism in urban contexts. In Thailand, the current military government demonstrates a kind of law and order agenda which also highly affects street vendors. Since 2014, announcements of âclean-upsâ of popular street vending areas and campaigns such as âreclaim the sidewalksâ created an atmosphere of strong uncertainty among vendors (The Japan Times, 2015; Wongsamuth, 2015; BatrĂ©au and Bonnet, 2016). It is thus important and timely to study and reveal the interaction and power relations between street vendors and other actors of the urban tourism setting.
The idea for this project on âhighlanders in the cityâ was born in the context of previous research among the Akha in classical village contexts. In the year 2006 I conducted a study in an Akha village in Chiang Rai province exploring the question of perception of tourists and tourism by villagers. One of the main and, for me, quite surprising results was that ethnic minority tourism in the village â despite being a daily occurrence â played a less important role for Akha villagers than expected, especially in light of other processes and events such as agricultural transformations, issues of citizenship, and, above all, migration into urban areas (Trupp, 2014). I spent the entire time of that research stay in minority villages in northern Thailand and the northern city of Chiang Mai where my host university institution was located. I avoided the capital city, Bangkok, and only stayed there to pick up my research permit, check out some libraries, and return to the airport. Also, I had no motivation to visit Thailandâs famous beach areas along the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. At the time, I felt that a researcher pursuing studies on highland minorities should work and physically be present in Thailandâs hill and village areas. Like many other students and scholars in this field, I was more attracted to the highlands than to crowded cities or mass tourist beach destinations. Toyota (1999) once stated that hardly any research on ethnic minorities in Thai urban contexts exists because anthropologists (and perhaps also social geographers with an interest in ethnic minority studies) have been inclined to consider it their task to gather information from âless spoiledâ villages and to record it while it lasts (p. 2).
This way, a lot of village-based research on highland ethnic minority people, even especially concerning the Akha people (for example Bernatzik, 1947; Feingold, 1976; Alting von Geusau, 1983; Kammerer, 1986; Tooker, 2004; Flacke-Neudorfer, 2008; Trupp, 2014), has been carried out, but only a few studies (see Toyota, 1998, 1999; Boonyasaranai, 2001; Ishii, 2012) have examined the rather recent phenomenon of highlanders in the urban context. There is research on âurban hilltribesâ available in the field of development studies, where it generally has been viewed as part of the âhilltribe problemsâ or as a result of uneven development (Toyota, 1999, p. 2). Existing studies, however, are limited to Chiang Mai only. One of the earliest works by Vatikiotis (1984) focused on the complex issue of the roles minority groups play in urban society and the extent of their assimilation with Thai mainstream society. Mika Toyota (1998, 1999) has written about Akha identity in urban and transnational contexts, finding that Akha migrants maintain several identities that enable them to simultaneously link to more than one locality and social setting. Buadaeng, Boonyasaranai, and Leepreecha (2002) developed a quantitative and qualitative profile of hilltribe migrants in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, providing an overview on migration motives and fields of occupation. Their research focuses on groups rather than on individuals and neglects the differences and inequalities within the ethnic minority groups. A study conducted by Fuengfusakul (2008) explores the networks and strategies of vendors and small entrepreneurs in the Chiang Mai night bazaar. And research in the field of souvenirs, culture, and commodification has explained the dynamics of commercialized arts and has shown how crafts initially produced for their own community were transformed into souvenir products for outsiders (Cohen, 1983, 2000). This book pursues a different approach by reconstructing migration trajectories of Akha migrant souvenir sellers over time and space. Their migration and economic activities did not end in northern Thailand, but have rather expanded towards Thailandâs southern tourist destinations, which have not yet been documented. This study enriches existing literature by integrating data from empirical research carried out in urban and tourist areas in the capital city of Bangkok and the southern beachside destinations. I use the terms âsouvenir sellersâ, âstreet vendorsâ, âmicro-entrepreneursâ, âethnic minority entrepreneursâ, and âown-account workersâ interchangeably in order to refer to self-employed Akha souvenir sellers and their micro-businesses in Thailandâs urban and beachside destinations.
This book thus investigates a different and rather recent phenomenon by following Akha entrepreneursâ economic activities beyond the northern city of Chiang Mai and applying an approach that systematically analyses social, economic, and political structures and relations among Akha micro-entrepreneurs in Thailandâs urban tourist areas. This study about the migration of self-employed Akha souvenir sellers into Thailandâs urban tourist areas and the expansion of Akha souvenir business over time and space is further relevant for the following reasons:
First, the work and everyday life experiences of Akha own-account workers are situated at the intersection of tourism and migration, the two most central social and economic phenomena of contemporary society (Hall and Williams, 2002). The areas of sale of Akha internal migrants, such as the famous traveller Khaosan Road in Bangkok or the notorious Walking Street in Patong on Phuket Island, have become interfaces between ethnic minority entrepreneurs and a wider economy consisting of national and international travellers, expatriates, other business owners and workers, officials, and various members of Thai mainstream society.
Second, due to their active involvement in tourism production and distribution processes along the roads of international urban tourist centres, Akha vendors have become highly visible. While most urban-based âhilltribesâ as well as other actors of the informal sector remain mostly invisible to visitors and other outsiders, this particular migrant group stands out visually and has become an integral feature of Thailandâs urban and beachside tourist centres. Eye-catching female Akha souvenir sellers, often wearing colourful and richly decorated hats, have become part of an informal sector that is linked to the global tourism economy.
Moreover, the ethnic minority group of the Akha represents the most visible ethnic highland group working in tourist businesses in Thailandâs urban and beachside destinations. They prominently feature in tourist media and advertisements in Thailand and international contexts. In a study about âhilltribe postcards from Northern Thailandâ, Erik Cohen (1992) found that the most commonly used minority names on these postcards were Hmong and Akha. Also, when landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, visitors waiting for their luggage can spot advertisements by Thailandâs national tourism organization (Tourism Authority of Thailand, TAT) displaying the countryâs major attractions, such as pristine beaches, temples, and markets. One billboard shows an Akha woman working in a rice field, fully dressed in the traditional Akha silver headdress and costume, which markets a romanticized minority and Akha image that has probably never existed this way. In addition, Akha and their souvenir products can also be found in the context of international tourism and marketing. For example, the 2013 travel catalogue on Asia of the well-known German tour operator Meierâs Weltreisen embellishes its cover with a woman wearing an Akha headdress, and even while on holiday in Southern France, I encountered a shop in the centre of Saint-Tropez selling a souvenir version of an Akha headdress.
Fourth, by working as colourful ethnic minority street vendors offering souvenirs, they may enhance the âexoticâ image of the city or urban neighbourhood. As economic actors in popular travel destinations, they contribute to the production and consumption of urban and tourist places from which both cities and migrants can benefit (Hall and Rath, 2007). Migrants are carving out their own niches in the tourism industry by entering into self-employment and/or commodifying some of their cultural features.
There is, however, also another side of the coin. Frequently, such processes of migrant or minority integration are linked with xenophobic stereotypes (re)produced by dominant societies. Economic advancements do not necessarily enhance social status. Furthermore, street vending takes place in a context of competition, risk, and insecurity in informal sectors and often evokes conflicts with authorities (Bhowmik, 2005; Etzold, 2013).
Sixth, this research on ethnic minority street vendors in Thailandâs urban tourist areas represents a highly gendered case study. Based on my own fieldwork material it can be stated that the vast majority of Akha souvenir vendors are women leaving their husbands and families behind in the villages. In Southeast Asia, women have often been depicted as more autonomous compared to the social and economic positions of women from neighbouring regions in South and East Asia (Hayami, 2012). Yet, as elsewhere, women in Southeast Asia were traditionally seen to be mainly involved in domestic spheres focusing on housework, child-bearing, and parenting, which were segregated from the male-dominated spheres of capitalist production, politics, religious life, and the wider society (King, 2008, pp. 197â198). Studies, however, show that changing economic relations can transform cultural constructions of gender (Swain, 1993). Yet, despite the meanwhile widely acknowledged fact that as entrepreneurs, women make a valuable contribution to local and national economies around the world in terms of job creation and wealth generation, they are still the largest underrepresented group in studies of entrepreneurship (Halkias, 2011).
Finally, this study is located within the field of internal migration studies. Skeldon (2006) identified a dominance of transnational and international migration research agendas but reminded us that the majority of people who migra...
