Developing the Potential of Chae Son Hot Springs, Lampang Province for Health Tourism

Abstract

This article aimed to: 1) study and analyze the potential of Chae Son hot spring health promotion tourist attraction, Lampang Province; 2) study the behaviors and demands of the tourists who came to travel at Chae Son hot spring health promotion tourist attraction, Lampang Province; and 3) recommend guidelines for improving the potential of Chae Son hot spring health promotion tourist attraction, Lampang Province. In order to accommodate health promotion and tourist attractions, this study was designed as mixed-methods research. The research results were found as follows:

1. The evaluation of the potential of being a health tourism destination for the types of natural hot springs in Chae Son Hot Spring, Lampang Province, showed that the quality standards overall were at an excellent level.

2. The research results showed that the influencing factors that made tourists travel to Chae Son hot spring were the tourist attractions.

3. The guidelines recommended for improving the potential of Chae Son hot spring health promotion tourist attractions in Lampang Province were as follows: 1) C: Certify tourism standard management to meet the quality standards of natural hot spring health promotion tourist attractions; 2) H: Health as the guideline in developing natural hot springs to become health promotion tourist attractions; 3) A: Attractions as the guideline in promoting tourist attractions to be increasingly well-known; 4) E: Equitability as equality of use; 5) S: Sustainable as the guideline of development by focusing on sustainable goals; 6) O: Opportunity as the guideline in developing tourist attractions in order to increase opportunity in accommodating those health tourists in the future; and 7) N: Natural as the guideline in conserving natural hot springs as well as improving the surrounding scenery.

With knowledge and findings from this research, a team of researchers has discovered the behavior of tourists who travel to Chae Son hot spring, Lampang Province, to assess their potential as a health tourism destination. They have also identified types of natural hot springs and created a model for the development of tourist attractions that can be further developed as a health tourism destination for the types of natural hot springs in other tourist attractions.