Luxury tourism boom worries Chiang Mai locals by Charlotte McDonald - Gibson Fri Aug 11 , 10 : 30 AM ET CHIANG MAI , Thailand ( AFP ) - Foreigners who ventured to Thailand ' s northern city of Chiang Mai in the backpacker heydays of the 1970 s found a sleepy city dotted with temples and a handful of homely guesthouses . Fast forward thirty years and the old temples remain , but sprouting up around them are five - star hotels and extravagant resorts , leaving locals divided over the benefits for the historic city . Lonely Planet author and long - time Chiang Mai resident Joe Cummings first visited the city in 1977 , and recalls a sleepy town with few facilities for the modern tourist . " It was dead at night . There were some dodgy bars , but there wasn ' t much entertainment for tourists , " says the American . " It has really gone upscale , especially in the last five years . " In 1986 , 19 , 000 international visitors passed through Chiang Mai airport . By 2005 , this figure had leapt to 176 , 000 . But with the boom comes consequences , and people are concerned about the environmental , social and economic impact on the ancient city . " The government is pushing too much for tourists when we should preserve our city for the locals , " says Duongchan Apavatjrut Charoenmuang , a researcher at Chiang Mai university ' s Social Research Institute . " More people means more garbage and more traffic jams . " The first sign of the impending luxury hotel explosion was the opening of a Four Seasons hotel in 1995 . In 2001 Chiang Mai native Thaksin Shinawatra was elected prime minister , and has been keen to promote his home town as a tourist draw , instigating projects including the 24 - million - dollar Night Safari . Chiang Mai ' s transformation from backpacker hideaway to luxury haunt was confirmed in 2005 with the opening of the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Devi . The 100 - million - dollar resort stretches over 60 acres and contains a six restaurants , a cooking school , an art and craft village , and its own market . Resorts such as these worry local people , who say that they encourage tourists to eat , sleep and shop in one location rather than at locally - run businesses . Eleanor Hardy , general manager of Chedi Chiang Mai , a boutique hotel that opened earlier this year , concedes that the bigger hotels can have an impact , but says that at the smaller Chedi , people are keen to experience local culture . " People want to see authentic Chiang Mai , and we are not . We are a five star hotel , " she says . Hardy thinks that moneyed travellers are heading to Chiang Mai after tiring of the well - trodden southern beach destinations . " Chiang Mai is relatively untouched by development and commercialisation , " she says . " It still has a feeling of old Siam . " Viparwan Chaiprakorb , who works at the popular Maesa elephant camp just outside Chiang Mai , says she too has seen an influx of wealthy tourists searching for a bit of authenticity . " They get a private jet from the US , stay at the Four Seasons and hire the camp , " she says . on the one hand they want to see something primitive , but they stay in the Four Seasons and come in their Gucci and Louis Vuitton . " Although Viparwan is glad of the money tourists bring , she also sees a downside to the flourishing luxury sector . The elephants used to play in the river , she says , but now rubbish from new resorts prevents that . " There is garbage , they have a difficult time getting rid of it , " she says . " The quality of water has gone down and we have had floods . The draining system is bad . " Local residents are also concerned that the encroachment of the city into the surrounding forest is destroying natural flood defenses , causing increasing destruction during the rainy season . At the end of July , some 5 , 900 homes flooded after torrential rains . But the five - star boom shows no sign of abating . The Chedi and two other high - end hotels have opened in the past year , and a Shangri - La hotel will open in 2007 . Sandy Morowitz , a backpacker from the United States who spent the day at Maesa elephant camp , says she found it difficult to get off the tourist track in Chiang Mai , but believes that change will be for the good . " Thailand is not only going to be for backpackers , it is going to be for the rich who want spas , five - star treatments , and elephant rides on nice seats , " she says . But Seksan Sutthana , a Chiang Mai tour guide of 15 years , questions whether tourists will still be drawn to the city when sprawlling shopping malls and high - rise buildings dwarf the traditional sights . There are 300 temples dotted in and around Chiang Mai . Travellers also flock to the ancient city for its relaxing atmosphere , which is a welcome respite from buzzing Bangkok . " The charm of Chiang Mai is the nice areas , the nice people , everything is natural , " says Seksan . " Now , everywhere tourists go they see American food like KFC and Swensens . once everything from the US is opened up here , there is no difference between their home town and here . Why would they come ? "