DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST SIGNBOARDS FOR TOURISTS AT THUNG SONG JUNCTION MARKET IN NAKHON SI THAMMARAT PROVINCE

Abstract

Having frequented Thung Song Junction Market, the researchers noticed that the majority of the signboards for tourists in the market were written in Thai and in poor condition. As a result, the researchers believed it would be appropriate to develop tourist signboards in Thai, English and Chinese in order to benefit the community. The research team conducted this research with the aims of 1) recognizing the preferences and opinions of tourists, shop owners, and Thung Song Junction Market committees in charge of the trilingual signboards; 2) developing the trilingual signboards to help tourists understand how they should behave as well as provide further useful information; and 3) gauging the satisfaction level of tourists, shop owners, and Thung Song Junction Market committees toward the trilingual signboards for tourists. The research instruments consisted of a questionnaire and an interview form. The questionnaire was made up of evaluation forms asking tourists, shop operators and Thung Song Junction Market committees’ preferences and satisfactions for the tourist signboards. The convenience sampling method was used to gather information from 104 participants including 50 tourists, 50 shop operators, and 4 Thung Song Junction Market committees, and six of these informants took part in the interview. The study findings revealed that the overall preferences for the trilingual signboards were found at the highest levels. According to the case-by-case analysis, the tourists visiting Thung Song Junction Market preferred trilingual signboards with proper size that could be easily spotted. Results of the interview revealed that installing tourist signboards also help tourists understand and gain information about the various spots within Thung Song Junction Market.