Development of a sustainable tourism program in Chawang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: to study the linkage of tourism routes using community identity and logistics management systems to support being a tourist attraction in Chawang District; 2. to know the guidelines for developing sustainable tourism programs; 3. to know the guidelines for developing sustainable tourism, and 4. to develop an information system for reserving tourism programs and distributing community products to online marketing. This research was mixed method research using a questionnaire on tourists traveling in Chawang District, a total of 400 people, and a semi-structured interview form from people in the government and private sectors, people in the community, and entrepreneurs in the area. Descriptive data analysis was performed with the statistical distribution of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the Pearson correlation coefficient

The research results showed that 1. Chawang District has natural beauty and is popular with tourists such as Khao Soon, waterfalls, and hot springs. Importantly, the people of Chawang District have a lot of faith in Phor Than Klai who has a silver tongue. At the same time, a variety of community products show the community identity of the Chawang people. There is either processing of agricultural products or learning from local wisdom to obtain community products or interesting local food. Another recommendation is the charm of the community that impresses tourists and the general public contains the faith and traditions of Chawang District. The results of the study of the level of demand of tourists who provide tourism logistics services in the Chawang district revealed that tourists have the highest demand in terms of financial flow with a need to pay for goods/services via credit/debit card or pay for goods/services via QR Code with a mobile application, followed by information flow: tourists have demands to have a map, a pamphlet for traveling and want to know travel information to various tourist attractions, and physical flow: tourists want safety in the accommodation and the community, respectively. 2. Sustainable Tourism Program in Chawang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province found that the program with the highest value was Program 1 (One day trip) Religious Tour, and Program 2 (One day trip) Agricultural and Natural Tour. 3. Tourists who have an opinion on the potential of the tourist attraction in 6 aspects: physical characteristics, quality and environmental protection, economic and social aspects, arts and culture, nature, and agriculture and management showed that the overall was at a high level. 4. Designing a reservation system for tourism programs and distributing community products to online marketing in Chawang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, have outstanding features for designing a database and linking relevant information, showing the coordinates of tourist attractions, and tourist routes by using information management cycle theory and improving the quality of service on the website to support tourism.