THE PARTICIPATION OF LOCAL POLITICIANS TO PROMOTE THE TEMPLE AS A CULTURAL TOURIST ATTRACTION IN CHUM PHAE DISTRICT, KHON KAEN PROVINCE

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: 1) to study the level of participation of local politicians in promoting the temples as a cultural tourist attraction; 2) to compare the level of participation of local politicians in promoting the temples as a cultural tourist attraction; 3) to study the guideline of participation of local politicians in promoting the temples as a cultural tourist attraction by applying the principle of the Four Iddhipāda. This study was conducted by means of mixed-method research. The sample group included 171 local politicians in Chum Phae District, Khon Kaen Province, and 10 key informants. The tools used were a questionnaire and an interview form. The obtained data were analyzed using social science software packages and contextual content analysis. The research results were as follows: 1) The overall level of the participation of local politicians in promoting the temples as a cultural tourist attraction in Chum Phae District, Khon Kaen Province in for aspects: (1) tourist attraction infrastructure, (2) tourism market management, (3) cultural tourism, (4) public relations was at a high level, (Mean = 4.19). 2) Politicians with different genders, ages, education levels, occupations, and monthly incomes participated in the promotion of Chum Phae district temples in Khon Kaen to be a cultural tourism destination differently at the statistical significance level of 0.05. 3) The guidelines for the participation of local politicians in promoting the temples as a cultural tourist attraction by applying the principle of the Four Iddhipāda were that (1) Chanda, they should help to preserve ancient sites and antiques that already exist to be stable and strong; (2) Viriya, tourism activities should be promoted in a way that integrates religious practices with the preservation of ancient sites; (3) Citta, language skills and local culture should be developed effectively by implementing the process of developing skills, knowledge about local history and language skills; (4) Vīmaṁsā, they should consider how to regularly maintain local cultural sites by integrating with the local way of life and culture