SOFT POWER AWARENESS ON PERCEPTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS VISITING SAMUI ISLAND, SURAT THANI PROVINCE

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate an awareness of soft power in Thailand within a context of tourists’ perceptions on Samui Island. The quantitative research was employed for data collection on a sampling group of 400 international tourists whose age was over 18 years old. The research tool was a questionnaire and a random convenient selection method. The descriptive statistics of standard deviation, percentage and mean ()was used. The findings disclose that the sampling group consisted of 224 females and 176 males; their age was between 21 - 37; 243 people were single; 196 were working with the private enterprises; 62 were Russian; and, 155 were earning between US$ 1,001 - 2,000. The analytical results based on Objective1 show that their soft power awareness is at a medium level in 5 aspects. However, upon considering on each aspect from high to low, each reveals as: 1) Thai boxing has an indication of the highest mean on the art of self-protection; 2) Thai Cuisine also has the highest mean on the title of varieties; 3) Thai Traditions and Cultures similarly unveil the highest mean on people’s manners and friendliness; 4) Thai Fabric has its highest mean on design; and, 5) Thai Films shows the highest mean on views.