Relationship between Public Participation and Community-Based Tourism Management in Ban Manao Wan Community, Phatthana Nikhom District, Lopburi

Abstract

The study aims to investigate 1) public participation in community-based tourism management in Ban Manao Wan Community, Phatthana Nikhom District, Lopburi; 2) community-based tourism management and 3) the relationship between public participation  and community-based tourism management in Ban Manao Wan Community. The sample were 330 villagers who live around the tourist attraction areas in the community which were Moo 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The data were collected using a questionnaire, and the statistics used for data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The findings showed that: 1) overall, the public participation in community-based tourism management in the Manao Wan community was at a neutral level; 2) overall, the community-based tourism management in the community was also at a neutral level and 3) the public participation and the community-based tourism management in the community held a relationship with a statistical significance at .01. This indicates how the high level of public participation in the tourism management will lead to a higher level of community-based tourism management. Therefore, the notion of public participation in local community should be promoted. This means to empower the community to mobilize their capabilities in local resource management as well as practice their decision making skills. With this, the community can take charge of their local activities by themselves in order to drive the community-based tourism that meet the real needs of the community.