BEHAVIOR AND INTENTION OF TOURISTS IN COMMUNITY TOURISM FOLLOWING THE MOTTO OF SONGKHLA PROVINCE

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) Study the level of tourist intention behavior, tourist happiness, value received, and experience from community tourism following the motto of Songkhla Province, and 2) Study the factors that influence tourist happiness, worth received, and tourism experience in relation to tourist intention behavior in community tourism following the motto of Songkhla Province. The sample group consisted of 400 Thai tourists aged 15 years and older who visited communities following the motto of Songkhla Province. Data was collected using questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using statistical software, including descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The research findings showed that 1) The overall behavior, intended behavior, tourist happiness, value received, and tourism experience of tourists' intention to participate in community tourism following the Songkhla province motto was at a high level ( = 3.74, S.D. = 0.68). When considered individually, tourists' intention behavior was high level in all aspects, including recommending and spreading the word ( = 3.83) and repeating their visit ( = 3.65). 2) The relationship between all predictor variables and the criterion variable was statistically significant at the .01 level, with values ranging from .578 to .749. and 3) Data analysis using multiple regression analysis revealed that the three factors influencing tourists' intention behavior in community tourism, following the motto of Songkhla province, were tourist happiness, value received, and tourism experience. The multiple regression coefficient (R) was .841, and the predictive power was 70.8%.