The Development of Comunity-based Tourism Activity Prototype Based on the Local Wisdom of Phutai People, Ban Phon, Phon Sub district, Khammuang District, Kalasin Province

Abstract

The results of the study were as follows:

               1) The potential of community-based tourism activities based on the wisdom of  Phutai people in Ban Phon village were: (1) For tourist attractions, there were places where tourists could learn the traditions and customs of the Phutai people. This also included Phuthai’s Pairwa Silk Learning Center. (2) For tourism activities, the activities the tourists could participate in included Pairwa silk weaving, Jujube orchard visits, wickerwork making, traditional Phutai costume-wearing, and Phutai dialect practice. (3) For the accessibility to tourist attractions, there was safe and convenient transportation available for tourists. 4) In terms of tourism facilitation, there was a tourist information center, food shops, grocery stores, and a community police box. (5) For accommodation, there were 26 homestays. (6) For add-on tourism services, there were a Wi-Fi service, a community hospital, an automatic telling machine (ATM), and a private post office.

               2) As for the tourists’ behaviors, the majority of tourists (72.00%) visited the area with their friends or colleagues. The tourists bought gifts (61%), studied the tourist attractions by using the Internet (57%), took a day trip (53%), visited the area during public holidays (48%), traveled by private vehicles (39%), and visited Ban Phon village at least three times (34%). As for the tourists’ needs, most tourists wanted to visit the Phuthai Art and Culture, Praewa Silk Learning Centre (92%). The add-on service needed by the tourists was the free Internet service (86%). They also wanted to learn Praewa silk weaving (63%).

               3) Four tourism activities found to be the prototype of tourism activities based on the local wisdom of Phutai people in Ban Phon village were: 1) a participatory Pairwa weaving learning activity, 2) a participatory wickerwork making activity, 3) a participatory jujube planting activity, and 4) a Phuthai Ban Phon’s way of life learning.

               4)           An assessment of the tourism activity prototype based on the local wisdom of Phutai people in Ban Phom village showed that the prototype: 1) gave the villagers chances to arrange the community’s tourism activities, 2) helped the community realize the importance of the identity and local cultures and preserve them, 3) helped promote the villagers’ pride of their local wisdom, 4) helped generate income for the community, 5) helped the products based on the local wisdom to be known widely, and 6) was a community tourism activity prototype based on the local wisdom that can be adopted by other communities