Religious Others, Tourism, and Missionization: Buddhist ‘Monk Chats’ in Northern Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Conjunctures of globalization and education have shaped the intersection of Buddhist monasticism and international tourism in the Northern Thai city, Chiang Mai. International tourism in Chiang Mai has been popular since the 1990s, while monks from all over Thailand and South and Southeast Asia have come to Chiang Mai in large numbers to pursue higher education in English since the 2000s. Focusing on Buddhist temples that contain a Monk Chat programme, where tourists and monks engage in conversation, this article analyses the responses of Buddhist monks towards a range of international tourists. Utilizing the perspectives of Buddhist monks through interviews reveals attitudes towards Western and Asian tourists as situated within broader discourses of Thai society. Investigating these attitudes and responses within the context of wider state, regional, and transnational influences, I argue that attitudes towards religious others are inextricably connected to missionization.

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