In addition to being guides, there are a variety of employment opportunities related to tourism- some people are working as tourist vehicle drivers (locally called Chander Gari), some are renting boats to the tourists, and some are involved in hotel and restaurant business. Many people are also involved in photography, and this is a great income source for them.
Every family is now somehow involved with tourism, and they are no longer dependent on Jhum cultivation alone. With the development of tourism, now the local people have schools for their children where education is being provided in their native languages. The agriculture-based economy of Thanchi has now transformed into a tourism-based economy. The living standards of the area has also improved. According to UNO office Thanchi, there is no beggar in the area. Everybody has a job to run his or her family.

However, while urbanization and tourism may improve their economic status, their culture is also being affected as a huge number of tourists are visiting these areas and exchange of cultural attributes are obvious here. Winning the hearts and minds of people living in the hills is important to eliminate any sort of extreme political ideas that might have taken root since CHT has a volatile political past.

Creating an environment which allows the locals to reap the benefit of growing domestic tourism industry can be a good start. But lack of knowledge amongst the relevant stakeholders regarding sustainable tourism development is a challenge.  To address these issues, training must be provided to tour guides as the tourists to ensure adequate employment generation, as well as safeguarding the indigenous people’s culture and the environment.