The Motivation of Thai Tourists Traveling to Cultural Attractions : A Study of Songkhla Old Town, Songkhla Province
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Abstract
This is a qualitative study designed to investigate the motivation of Thai tourists travelling to Songkhla Old Town, Songkhla Province. The sample in this study included four hundred Thai tourists who had travelled to Songkhla Old Town and used questionnaires to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for mean comparison testing, including percentages, standard deviations, independent sample t-tests, and one-way ANOVAs.
The results found that Thai tourists have a high level of push motivation, overall, and their pull motivation was at an even higher level in the survey. The results from the mean comparison, classified by demographic characteristics, showed statistically significant differences only in pull motivation. Thus, the government and private sectors related to tourism should increase public relations to enhance the tourists’ perception and pull motivation regarding tourist destinations, such as landscaping, safety, and the atmosphere of cultural attractions, in their efforts to influence the tourists’ decision-making process and encourage them to travel to Songkhla Old Town.
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