Tourism is one of the most important sources of foreign currency for developing countries, and landlocked Laos, the least developed country in Southeast Asia, is no exception. Under the socialist regime, however, the government of Laos forbade foreigners to enter the country. The development of the tourism industry therefore, did not start until the government adapted the New Economic Mechanism for economic liberalization in 1986. To promote the tourism industry, the Laotian government needed to develop legislation regarding the entry of foreign tourists.
Since the early 1990s, the Laotian government has implemented various tourism policies, such as issuing tourist visas for international tourists, abolishing the domestic travel pass, and launching the Visit Laos Year 1999-2000 campaign. The promotion of tourism by the government resulted in an increase in foreign tourist arrivals. In addition to historically known tourist sites such as Vientiane, the capital city, and Luang Phabang, a World Heritage Site, new tourist sites in rural areas of the northern region were created by free independent travelers (described as backpackers). The most notable rural tourist site is Vang Vieng in Vientiane province.
In the 1990s, the number of backpacker arrivals in Vang Vieng rapidly increased after the completion of a bridge across the Mekong River and with the Visit Laos Year 1999-2000 campaign. The existing small commercial area has since given way to more tourism-related facilities used by backpackers rather than by the locals. Furthermore, tourism-related facilities have expanded to adjacent areas. Isolated concentrations of tourism-related facilities in central Vang Vieng can be called a “backpacker enclave, ” where many travelers, especially backpackers, come and stay. Additionally, many tourism-related facility operators come from other areas, including overseas, to establish businesses in this area, and therefore this space can be understood as a social space that is completely different from the adjacent area where local farmers live.
In Vang Vieng, not all the locals are pleased with its transformation into a tourist site, because an increase in backpackers who seldom try the local food do not contribute to the rise in sales of local agricultural products, and new social problems such as drug use and prostitution have increased. Furthermore, since the locals do not know how to cook Western-style meals and also do not speak English, tourism-related facilities in Vang Vieng offer few job opportunities for them. Although the regional formation of such backpacker enclaves has provided economic benefits to tourism operators, most farmers have received little benefit from it.
In conclusion, backpacker enclaves in rural areas of developing countries like Laos create new spatial binaries: backpacker enclave versus paddy fields, tourism operators versus farmers, and tourists versus locals. In addition, it has an adverse social influences on farmers and the economic gap between tourism operators and farmers has widened.

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This paper examines the relationships between the movements of Japanese macaques and crop damage. The study area was the Kameyama Hills in the southern Suzuka Mountains located in the northwestern part of Mie prefecture. One group of macaques was followed using radio-tracking for 25 days in August 2005, which was the crop harvest season. Based on maps of the daily movement routes, the damaged crops were recorded. In addition, data were gathered through interviews of farmers whose crops were damaged.
It was found that the macaques moved along the forest extending into the rice paddies or dry fields near their dwelling places. Therefore the damaged areas were located near the forest edge, and the damage was less with increasing distance from the forest. When there were persimmon and chestnut trees near the forest, the monkeys tended to visit often and eat the crops around the trees.
On the other hand, where defense nets were set up with fireworks to scare the macaques, there was little crop damage.
It is suggested that the macaque routes are considered when deciding which areas should remain forested to reduce the crop damage caused by them.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify agritourism development in remote areas. In earlier studies, local people's active participation encouraged the development of tourist industries in rural areas far from large metropolitan areas. The study area is Nagawa district, Nanbu town, Aomori Prefecture, where farmers engaged in agritourism play an important role in local development. In this area, the main industry is agriculture, mainly fruit cultivation. Farmers grow mostly sweet cherries, plums, and apples. Aomori Prefecture is divided into the Tsugaru region and the Nanbu region. The Tsugaru region is well known for its apple production, whereas the Nanbu region including Nagawa district, Nanbu town produces various types of fruit.
There have been many changes in fruit farming in Nagawa district. Cold wind from late spring to summer, called yamase, damaged rice and therefore lowered production. Thus, farmers traditionally had to rely on off-farm income sources, such as work away from home or timber revenues from land held in common. As a result, fruit cultivation was an important source to produce income to maintain farm management. In the Meiji era, farmers started commercial fruit farming, but they had few markets. Thus, farmers started to ship fruit through newly organized settlement associations and also through private sales in local markets. After World War II, fruit cultivation was promoted because of the adjustment in the production of rice and tolerance to damage from cold weather, and therefore Nagawa district, became the greatest sweet cherry and plum production center in Aomori Prefecture. However, fruit farmers decreased in number because of the hard working conditions and low market prices for fruit. The local government had to consider regional revitalization through the promotion of agriculture. Therefore, the local government decided to utilize fruit production to develop rural tourism.
The local governments and local leaders promoted agritourism using the following methods.
Specifically, the local government planned cherry picking, direct marketing of farm products and fruit artifacts, farm home stays, and other events. In addition, the, local government built farm stands, accommodations, and hosted farm experience excursions. Fruit farmers who approved of such activities focused their energy on agritourism and supported tourism events sponsored by the local government. In the Takase area, Nagawa district, where many farmers are engaged in agritourism, two farmers in particular contributed to the development of agritourism. One was the first person to manage a “pick-your-own” farm, and the other encouraged fruit farmers in this area to start agritourism. In addition to changing farm management, they built a cooperative system of pick-your-own farms in the Takase area and diversified farm management with subsidized projects. Their leadership encouraged people who had returned to farming to participate in pick-your-own farm management. Furthermore, employed workers from neighboring areas supported pick-your-own farm management indirectly.
Thus, it is important to obtain the cooperation of as many farmers as possible for local development through agritourism in remote rural villages. In other words, it is necessary for agritourism and administrative tourism events to complement each other.

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