The Historical Significance of Nakhon Phanom City and The Sustainable Development of Community Tourism

Abstract

   This research aims to study three issues: 1. the historical development of Nakhon Phanom City from the past to the present; 2. the importance of historical and cultural attractions in Nakhon Phanom and 3. the guideline for the creative and sustainable development of historical tourism in Nakhon Phanom. This qualitative research employed historical methods to collect and analyze data from documents, archaeological evidence, legends, and folk rituals. A social science approach was employed in the forms of an in-depth interview and a focus group interview with 20 local people. The data were presented in the form of an academic report.   The results included: 1. the history of Nakhon Phanom was found back around the 12th – 18th B.E. It was the location of the ancient kingdom called “Srikhottaboon”. In the 19th B.E., the name of the kingdom was changed to “Maruakkha Nakhon” which was the important city of Lan Xang’s Kingdom. Until 2321 B.E., it was annexed as part of the Thai Kindom, and changed the name to "Nakhon Phanom City"; 2. Nakhon Phanom had many distinct outstanding attractions. It included: 2.1 historical attractions which were the places that showed the development of their artistic and exceptional architecture. Most of them are temples and old buildings in the community; 2.2 there was a local community attraction that was an ethnical village with a unique cultural identity and 2.3 there were local traditions and festivals which were arranged based on the local beliefs for example, the Illuminated Boat Procession (Lai Reua Fai) and Phaya  Si Sattanakarat worship ceremony and 3. for the guideline that could help support  the sustainability in the local tourism at Nakhon Phanom, it was suggested that local community needed to participant in the local tourism management.