Nomadic tourism and communitiy displacement: local perspectives of digital nomadism on Koh Phangan. A qualitative analysis of the local perspective on neocolonial structures, geoarbitrage and inequality of the housing market on Koh Phangan
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2025-06-25
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en
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This thesis critically explores the socio-economic and socio-cultural impacts of digital nomadism on the local housing market of Koh Phangan, Thailand. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork, including 15 in-depth interviews with local residents and additional observations, this study analyzes how geoarbitrage, touristification and neocolonial structures affect local communities. The research has a focus on housing affordability, displacement, and the erosion of social cohesion. The findings reveal that the growing influx of Western digital nomads, enabled by global inequalities, exacerbate local housing shortages and drives up rents. This dynamics marginalizes local residents and alters the island’s spatial and cultural identity. Residents expressed mainly frustration over rising cost of living, (illegal) foreign ownership, subletting and cultural alienation. The study further highlights how the commodification of housing and culture deepens socio-spatial divides. Employing Social Exchange Theory and Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle, the research situates these local experiences within broader global processes. By centering local voices this thesis challenges celebratory narratives of digital nomadism and calls for inclusive, locally informed tourism policies. Ultimately it contributes to the debates on sustainable tourism, social justice and community agency.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen