Elephant experiences are highly sought after by tourists visiting Thailand; however, it is crucial for visitors to engage ethically, specifically by avoiding direct contact with the elephants at such camps.
World Animal Protection Thailand has urged elephant camps to cease using elephants for entertainment, particularly calling for a ban on tourist involvement in activities like bathing and feeding the animals.
Finding a genuinely ethical, no-touch elephant sanctuary proves challenging for many tourists, leading some to forego the experience entirely. Chiang Mai, a major center for elephant tourism, hosts approximately 90 camps, providing homes to 871 elephants available for tourist interactions.
Despite their ethical branding, many sanctuaries still allow close interactions such as mud baths with elephants.
LuLu Foures, a French university student exploring Chiang Mai, shared her difficulty in finding truly ethical options, “It was difficult to find an ethical sanctuary because they all claimed to be so.”
“However, when we dug a little deeper, we realized that some offer baths or encourage feeding elephants by hand, yet still consider themselves ethical.”
The tragic death of a 22-year-old Spanish tourist at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in Phangnga in December 2024 has heightened safety concerns among travelers opting for elephant experiences.
Maggie Gibson, a 22-year-old from New Zealand, expressed, “We deliberately chose to go to a no-touch sanctuary because it felt wrong. The death reinforced our decision even further. We should not touch elephants because they do not want to be touched.”
According to the Livestock Department, Thailand is home to 5,359 domesticated elephants across 245 camps nationwide.
Trunks Up, a reputable organization dedicated to Asian elephant protection, indicates that 55.8% of Thailand’s elephants are in captivity, depending largely on tourism for survival.
Trunks Up has highlighted the harsh realities of commercial elephant tourism, noting the prevalent use of greenwashing in marketing and the often cruel conditions elephants endure despite sanctuary claims.
The Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary in Chiang Mai offers a unique experience where tourists observe rescued elephants from a distance without any direct interaction such as touching, bathing, or feeding.
Billy, a guide at the sanctuary with ten years of experience, explained, “Our priority is the elephants’ happiness, not human interaction.”
The sanctuary provides a safe environment for five elephants retired from forced labor, offering them 50 acres of land to roam freely.
Each elephant is looked after by a mahout from the Karen tribe, where the skills of elephant training are passed down through generations.
Billy added, “At Blue Daily, we respect the elephants’ preferences, so we don’t allow bathing or feeding by tourists. Elephants should only bathe if they choose to.”
After her research, LuLu Foures decided on Blue Daily for her elephant experience in Chiang Mai. “For them, it is essential to let the elephants be elephants.”
“We followed the elephants and moved at their pace; it was never the other way around. If the elephants want to approach, then they approach, but it is never initiated by the human,” she explained.
Before the pandemic, World Animal Protection (WAP) estimated that elephants generated up to US$770 million annually for Thailand.
The pandemic severely affected the industry, leaving many sanctuaries dependent on donations for survival. Blue Daily is one such sanctuary that managed to sustain itself through philanthropic support.
While elephant tourism significantly contributes to the livelihoods of many Thais, the debate over ethical practices continues, as the risk of greenwashing and offering hands-on experiences might deter tourists entirely.
