The commodification process of cultural tourism in Nan District

The objective of this article is to study the process of cultural commodification of Nan’s Muang district for which the cultural identities and cultural capitals of the town are commoditized for the purpose of tourism by relevant stakeholders. The study is aimed to ;1) understand how social and cultural capitals of Muang Nan District are converted to cultural goods for tourism industry2) to study the adaptation process of stakeholders in response to the government’s cultural commodification policy, and to understand its subsequent impacts on those stakeholders in Muang Nan district. Theoretical frameworks used for this qualitative study were cultural tourism, social and cultural capitals and creative tourism. Sampled populations were governmental agencies, private sectors, local communities in Muang Nan district and tourists who visited the area. The studied area was Nan’s old town which encompasses places of interest such as the National Museum of Nan and Phumin Temple. The study revealed that state’s tourism promotion policies were instrumental to the commodification process which initiated by trend building, sourcing cultural identities, meaning creations, product presentations, and adaptations of relevant stakeholders. As a result, the meaning of cultural capitals has been modified through the process of reproductions which resulted in valuable commercial gains.