Guidelines to the Management of Firefly Watching Tour in Thailand

This article presents findings from the study on “Guidelines to the Management of Firefly Watching Tour in Thailand”. The study utilized the Delphi technique and 18 experts in 6 fields, namely entomology, mangrove forest, tourism, environment, economy and social science. It reveals the first three priorities for management that include: 1) Campaigning and working on public relations for the conceptual change from the mainstream tour to ‘eco-friendly tour’ through conservation or restoration-related activities and participation from tourists; 2) Managing the tourism based on understanding in nature and; 3) Monitoring environmental changes, both physically and biologically, on a constant basis with collaboration from concerned parties such as Sub-district Administration Organization (SAO), local tour companies and community leaders to create the direction and appropriate patterns of firefly watching tour. Among findings is the management that highly requires collaboration from local people and participation from concerned parties including tour companies, local agencies such as Sub-district Administration Organization (SAO) and municipalities, state agencies and tourists. Furthermore, the finding highlights the use of youth power in order to strengthen the awareness in environment and nature preservation in local communities. By using this, youth will be instilled with knowledge through curriculum at kindergarten, elementary and secondary level. At the end, the nature preservation will exist in them since young ages, along with the sustainability of preservation in their communities.


Introduction
In the present, many developing countries use tourism as a key strategy to country development.Their government put efforts to develop and promote tourism industry to stimulate the economic growth.Thus, at the same time, unplanned and uncontrolled tourism can damage the country's natural resources and environment (Creaco & Querini, 2003).Giving Thailand as an example, the growth of tourism industry has produced impacts on the firefly watching tour, which later results in the loss of habitat for fireflies.
Among living creatures, the firefly is commonly an insect that symbolizes the fertility and balance of nature (Botanical Garden Organization, 2003) because the life cycle of firefly is closely tied with the environment and nature's fertility.However, studies about the firefly are very rare in Thailand.This study, therefore, had put an attempt and finally could categorize species of some families, namely Luciola circumdata, L. ovalis, L. substriata, and L. aquatilis (Thancharoen et al., 2007) Pteroptyx mallaccae, Pyrocoelia analis, P. praetexta, P. tonkinensis, P. grata, Pyrophanes indica.The fireflies produce and synchronize blinking lights at night that signal to attract mates.Each species synchronize the light differently (Botanical Garden Organization, 2003).Blinking lights create beautiful nights, like Christmas trees, that invite tourists to visit.
Due to population increase which is followed by an extension of cities, people heavily use pesticides that pollute water sources, the air and soil as well as cause a salt balance change in rivers.These mentioned leads to a significant decrease in firefly population (Lloyd et al., 1994;Nada & Kirton, 2004;Nada et al., 2009).In Thailand, the growth of tourism industry is a key factor to a constant decrease of firefly population as obviously seen in Amphawa, Samut Songkhram.A huge income from tourism comes with a continuous increase of tourist number that further results in higher population density as well (Chiravet, 2005).Changes take place and so do negative impacts on the communities, for example sales of land and farms along the river and canals to serve as accommodations for increasing tourists.The increasing number of boat also brings in social and environmental impacts on the community.Such impacts include noise pollution that disturbs people living along the water and www.ccsen shrimp far and indirec It is, there community stakeholde tourism.resulted in a continuous decrease of firefly number.In fact, mangrove forest encroachment was also a major reason to the decrease of fireflies in brackish water sources as an example in Malaysia where the cut down of Sonneratia ceaeolaris Engler in the Selangor River area caused a reduction in number of Pteroptyx tener fireflies (Nallakumar, 2003).Additionally, firefly watching tours by boat in rivers or mangrove forest areas contributed a reduction in firefly population because the tour disturbed the habitat area.According to Suchada et al. (2007), firefly watching tours in Amphawa, Samut Songkhram caused a huge reduction in number and distribution of Pteroptyx malaccae Gorham which contrasted with an increasing popularity of the tour.

Delphi Technique
The Delphi technique was developed by Olaf Helmer and Norman Dalkey from the Rand Corporation in early 1950 aimed at questioning and collecting opinions of experts on the prediction in science and technology.The Delphi technique systematically facilitates the analysis or decision making of experts without any confrontation between them.This way, each expert can freely express their opinions, without worry about others', and has chances to carefully review these opinions, making them reliable for decision making (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 1997;McGill, 1988;Robbins, 1996;Stewart et al., 1999).
Delphi starts with the selection of experts to answer the questionnaire of which questions are repeated in many rounds for more and more reliable opinions.Open-ended questionnaire composed of general questions are used in the first round to gather opinions from each expert.All first round opinions are analyzed and similar or overlapping opinions are cut off.Then, the researcher develops the second round questionnaire and sends it to the same experts to verify their answers.However, the second round and next rounds apply the close-ended questionnaire.The rating scale for each round varies and the questionnaire will be stopped when the conformity of answers or opinions is met (Delbecq et al., 1975;Lang, 1998;Ludwig, 1997).
Considering the expert number, Delbecq et al. (1975) recommended 15-20 experts, rather than having 3-4 experts which were considered too few.However, Linstone and Turoff (1975) suggested 5-10 persons while Thomas Macmillan proposed 17 experts and over to lessen errors.

Population
This study involved in 18 experts, from the field of entomology, mangrove forest, tourism, environment, economy and social science, which were selected according to criteria set by the researcher.

Step
Firstly, the researcher did literature review through books and research documents about the firefly and impacts from tourism on firefly population.The review helped develop the open-ended questionnaire and, then, 18 experts from 6 fields were selected.The researcher made appointments to meet, inform them research objectives and invite them as experts for this research.After this, they were asked to answer open-ended questions in the first round.After collecting all answers from 18 experts, the researcher analyzed and cut out overlapping answers in order to construct the close-ended questionnaire with rating scales.This questionnaire was sent out again to them to rank order of scales and certify their answers.

Statistics for Analysis
This study utilized mean, standard deviation (S.D.), median and Interquartile Range (IR) with statistical interpretation as follows: 1) Mean value should get higher than 3.41 2) Standard deviation was set under 1.20 which implied less score distribution or harmonized opinions 3) Median was set higher than 3.41 4) Interquartile range should not get higher than 1.50

Findings
Most experts, 93.33 percent, viewed that the sustainable success of firefly watching tour management needed the participation of community people to take role in tourism management (Figure 2).66.67 percent recommended the involvement of state sector in the management while 33.33 percent agreed with the state provision of supports, such as knowledge and budget, to the community when requested only (Figure 3).Table 1 presents how to successfully and sustainably manage the firefly watching tour and Table 2 presents the state participation for success and sustainable management of the firefly watching tour.
Table 1.Guidelines to successful and sustainable management of firefly watching tour

Guidelines to firefly watching tour management Mean S.D. Median IR
1.There need to be realization in nature system before bringing firefly watching tours and tourists into communities.4.610 0.778 5.00 1.00

Conclusion
For success and sustainability, community people should participate in the firefly watching tour management as they are stakeholders and understand well their local nature.The community-based participation is recommended, along with a clear structure of management suitable for each community as well as a monitoring and evaluation system at community level.Other people in the communities should get involved for better collaboration.That is to say, all people should help with thinking, acting and evaluating.Importantly, there should be forums organized for experience sharing with academics and public.Besides knowledge exchanges, these forums empower the community and inputs from forums will facilitate work plans and appropriate activities.Most importantly, knowledge transfer to the next generation is the major factor to achieve the sustainable management.For children, they need socialization and internationalization, and learning in culture and proper social value.All could be done through activities and curriculum for kindergarten, elementary and secondary education.By having these, young generation will be the key to sustainable management in the future.
Furthermore, this way is same the way to management firefly watching in Malaysia.That information such as firefly's life cycle and habitat must has been imparted to the community through several firefly awareness programs organized for local villagers, tour guides, boat operators and school children (Nada et al., 2009).
About the state sector, they should focus on public relations targeted at community people for a recognition of and understanding in natural occurring resources.These natures are significant to the community's economy and life in the long term, particularly the income generated by true natural legacy, not man-made ones.The state should provide communities supports that should also come with the community's preparation.Therefore, it is neither instruction nor determination from any government bodies, but networks of collaboration established by communities.Their own initiative will survive with minor supports from state agencies that include provision of knowledge, campaign for sustainable management and other public relations.Moral supports from the state, such as award provision, are also considered as a value added to the community.This creates a notion among people that it is not just money, but benefits to the whole society.

Recommendation
This study recommends constant awareness raising, based on biology, ecology and ethnology of the firefly, in nature conservation among people.This basis should also be part of public relations.Internal schools should be set as a center for community learning as well as for visitors.Networks of community people, visitors, entrepreneurs, government bodies and general public are also recommended for information sharing.Furthermore, the network is expectedly for the realization of fireflies as a crucial element to ecology, ecological cohabitation and social relationship.Information through networks and website will result in positive perception towards the firefly watching tour that can be adapted to other ecological initiatives.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Percentage of opinions from experts on the role of community people and participation in firefly watching tour management

Table 2 .
Guidelines to state participation to successful and sustainable management of firefly watching tour