Extracting Knowledge and Lessons from Local Tales to Increase the Potential of Tourism in the Ban Kut Khong Chai Community in Kalasin Province

Abstract

The objectives of this article were 1) to extract knowledge about local tales that are useful and related to increasing the tourism potential of the community and 2) to extract lessons from problems, obstacles, and suggestions in applying local tales to increase the potential of community tourism. This was qualitative research using the concept of extracting knowledge lessons and the concepts of local tales and tourism as the research framework. The research area was the Ban Kut Khong Chai community in Kalasin Province. Important information providers were community leaders, local philosophers, wisdom teachers, local elders, and leaders of local groups or organizations, etc., totaling 20 people, using a purposive selection method. The research tool was a semi-structured interview form, which was a tool used for in-depth interviews. Three experts in the field of stories and development were invited to consider, inspect, and give opinions on whether they were appropriate or not and agreed to be used in data collection. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis and the writing descriptive narratives. 

It was found that: 1) local tales with distinctive identities are beneficial and related to increasing the tourism potential of the Ban Kut Khong Chai community. They can be grouped into six categories: 1.1) history, settlement, and development of the area; 1.2) legends linked to the place; 1.3) beliefs and traditions of the community; 1.4) culture and tradition; 1.5) agricultural wisdom; and 1.6) important places; 2) problems and obstacles in bringing local tales to be applied to increase tourism potential. They can be classified into two groups: 2.1) problems and obstacles from within the community area and 2.2) problems and obstacles from outside the community; and 3) suggestions for applying local tales to increase tourism potential. There are three ways to implement these ideas: 3.1) supporting the design of community products; 3.2) developing activities and tourism routes; and 3.3) developing into a folk museum. Nevertheless, knowledge of local tales will be a tool for promoting the community in the area to apply to occupations and increase tourism potential, which will lead to income generation and increase economic value for the community.