Enhancing Creative Tourism Attractions to Promote Active Ageing among Older Adults in Noen Hom Community, Prachinburi Province

Abstract

This research aimed to construct creative tourism attractions and synthesize a destination upgrading process through participatory action research to support active ageing among older adults in Noen Hom Community, Prachinburi Province. The study involved 42 key informants, selected through purposive sampling on a voluntary basis. These informants comprised 14 older adults and local wisdom holders, 14 representatives from government agencies and local administrative organizations, and 14 representatives from entrepreneurs, occupational groups, and local site owners. The research instruments consisted of a tourism site survey form, focus group discussion guidelines, a destination assessment form based on the 6As components, and a brainstorming record form. Then, data were analyzed through content analysis.

The findings revealed that the design process for upgrading creative tourism attractions consisted of four phrases: a) surveying cultural capital and community context, b) analyzing tourism site potential based on the 6As components, c) selecting sites and developing designs, and d) implementing the design outputs. The design concept for promoting active ageing focused on developing spaces that are safe, easily accessible, equipped with appropriate resting areas and facilities, as well as capable of enabling older adults to transmit local wisdom, actively participate in society, and generate income from tourism activities. As a result of this process, the community obtained a prototype for tourism attraction design that connects cultural capital with actual spatial utilization. Additionally, this research process can be applied as a guideline for developing tourism attractions in other ageing communities with similar contexts.