Potential Development of Tourism Management of Ban Phong Neep Community Tourism Promotion Club (TPC), Si Than Sub-district, Phu Kradueng District, Loei Province

Abstract

Abstract

            This research aimed to 1) study the context of tourism management in Ban Phong Neep, Si Than Sub-district, Phu Kradueng District, Loei Province, and 2) study the potential development of tourism management in Ban Phong Neep Community Tourism Promotion Club, Si Than Sub-district, Phu Kradueng District, Loei Province. It was a study of quantitative and qualitative data. There were 30 informants for data collection: members of the community tourist management team, the local branch office of the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), tour operators, the media, tourism scholars, and tourism management networks. To evaluate the suitability of the questionnaire, unstructured interviews, group discussions, meetings, and assessment forms were employed as instruments for qualitative data gathering. Meanwhile, the assessment forms were used to confirm the questionnaire’s reliability. Qualitative data were evaluated using content analysis. The mean and standard deviation were used to assess the quantitative data. The study found that:1) Ban Phong Neep has been organizing tourism since 2005. Initially, it started by itself. Later, the government and educational institutions came to support tourism management. The strength of the village is its location along the Phu Kradueng National Park, with nature, way of life, homestays, and culture linked to forest conservation. The group wants to develop its expertise in tourism management, and 2) the potential development of Ban Phong Neep tourism management revealed that the overall level was at the highest. Culture and natural resources, community organization, and management were the top three criteria with the highest averages