Model and Potential Development of Community Enterprises in the Cultural Tourism Based on Local Identity to Tourists in Ubon Ratchathani Province

Abstract

          This study aimed to investigate the potential of the community enterprises in cultural tourism and develop model and potential for cultural tourism management of the community enterprise based on the local identity to tourists in Ubon Ratchathani Province.

          The participants in this study were thirteen community enterprises in Muang District, Ubon Ratchathani Province which were strong and effective including appropriate to develop into tourist attractions. The research instruments were observation form, questionnaire, semi-structured interview, group discussion. The qualitative data from observation form, semi-structured interview, and group discussion were analyzed to find out the correlation of the data by using descriptive analysis. The quantitative data from the questionnaire were analyzed using frequency percentage, average, and standard deviation.  The result of the study were;

1) Most of the community enterprises had the knowledge and understood about cultural tourism at “moderate level” (55.7%).

          The overall attitude toward the appropriateness of the current situations for cultural tourism management was at a moderate level (2.95)

          The attitude toward the future expectation of tourism management was at a high level (4.32)

          The need to participate towards cultural tourism was at high level (3.61). Those needs were on participation, assessment and planning with the average at 4.00, 3.74 and 3.61 respectively.

2) The methods in the potential development of the Community Enterprise were numerous namely; lecture, workshop to draw understanding in cultural tourism management including tourist network connection, team building and doing action plan to find out the models and activities for tourism, educational trips and focus group discussion.

3) The tourism models of the community enterprise were divided into (1) festival tour, art and craft tour, cultural-activity tour and named the tour program “Cultural Route, Ubon Ratchathani Province”. The program divided into 4 main routes (1) Candle Route (2) E-Sarn (Northeastern) Offspring Legend and Wicker Rice-Containers (Kratip) (3) Brass Works: Breathe of Pa-Aw Village and (4) Germinated brown (GABA) Rice Wisdom.