SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES: A CASE STUDY OF HUAI YA KHRUEA COMMUNITY, NAMNAO DISTRICT, PHETCHABUN PROVINCE

Abstract

          This study aims to 1) study the context of tourism community in Huai Ya Khruea community, 2) to study the hosts’ participation in Ban Huai Ya Krua community, and 3) to provide guidances on sustainable tourism development in Huai Ya Khruea community, Namnao district, Phetchabun province. A qualitative research was used in this study comprising with the document study, observation and in-depth interview, after it had been checked validity by the experts. This research had used purposive sampling to choose the population who can provide information of Huai Ya Khruea Community tourism management according to the research objectives. The 15 key informants were divided into 5 groups; government officers, community leader, the local community, tourism business entrepreneurs, and Thai tourists. After that, the issues from the data collection were analyzed by the content analysis.
          The result of the research has found that (1) Ban Huai Ya Krua community is the outstanding natural tourism resource with a nice scenery view points, tourism activities, and can be linked to many other destinations. (2) The community emphasis on joining and contributing the maintenance of community tourism resources. But in terms of management and income distribution, it remains a major problem for the community. Therefore, in order to contribute sustainable tourism development of the community, we need to consider the development of tourism activities that help conserve tourism resources, an awareness raising and tourists’ valuable experiences, while maintaining the community’s identity at the same time. The government authorities should be an intermediary agency in the developing tourism activities as well as an equal benefit distribution. That is to say a participation between local community and all stakeholders is an important process leading to a successful sustainable tourism.
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