AN ANALYTICAL STUDY ON THE APPROACHES FOR PROMOTING BUDDHIST CONSERVATION TOURISM OF WAT PHRATHATSUANTARN, KHUENGNAI DISTRICT, UBON RATCHATHANI PROVINCE

Abstract

This article included 3 objectives as the followings: 1) to study the principles and concepts on promoting Buddhist conservation tourism; 2) to study the condition of Buddhist conservation tourism of Wat Phratatsuantarn, Khuengnai District, Ubon Ratchathani Province; 3) to analyze the approaches for promoting Buddhist conservation tourism of Wat Phratatsuantarn, Khuengnai District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. It was a qualitative research. The research findings were as the followings. 1) Conservation tourism is a tourism focusing on the conservation of resources and environment to be sustainably maintained and utilized by covering all types of natural and cultural resources. 2) The tourism condition of Wat Phratatsuantarn included: ancient barge or Chao-Mae-Hong-Thong barge made of a drilled large log of Malabar iron wood (Mai Takhien) with its size of 24 meters long and 2.70 meters wide. The age of the barge is 300 years; Phradhammadevo, a bronze Buddha statue with the length of posture of sitting meditation 42 centimeters and the height of 76 centimeters molded with Laotian arts in the posture of Marawichai (the attitude of subduing Mara) Laotian with the age of 224 years; 3) The approaches for promoting Buddhist conservation tourism of Wat Phratatsuantarn include the followings: 1) promotion of physical conservation tourism (physical development); 2) promotion of conservation tourism on management system and the discipline of tourists (precepts development); 3) promotion of conservation tourism on environmental consciousness cultivation (mental development); and 4) promotion of conservation tourism on provision of knowledge and information among tourists (intellectual development).