COMPONENTS OF TOURISM ATTRACTIONS INFLUENCING THAI TOURISTS DECISION TO VISIT BANG KO BUA COMMUNITY, SAMUT PRAKAN PROVINCE

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: (1) to study the demographic characteristics of Thai tourists influencing their decision to visit Bang Ko Bua Community, Samut Prakan Province; (2) to examine the components of tourist attractions influencing Thai tourists’ decision to visit Bang Ko Bua Community; and (3) to compare the demographic characteristics with the components of tourist attractions influencing Thai tourists’ decision to visit Bang Ko Bua Community. This study employed a quantitative research approach. The sample group consisted of 400 respondents, selected using a simple random and convenience sampling method. The research instrument was a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, namely frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation to describe the demographic characteristics and main tourism factors, as well as inferential statistics, including t-test and one-way ANOVA.
The results revealed that most of the 400 respondents were female (51.75%), aged between 25–34 years (26.00%), employed in private companies (28.50%), single (42.75%), held a bachelor’s degree (25.00%), and had a monthly income between 10,000 – 19,999 baht (47.75%). Regarding the level of importance of the main tourism factors influencing Thai tourists’ decision to visit Bang Ko Bua Community, the overall mean score was high (M = 4.06, SD = 0.82). The most influential factor was tourist attraction appeal, rated at the highest level (M = 4.30, SD = 0.76), followed by facilities at the attraction and accessibility to the attraction. The hypothesis testing results indicated that gender (t399 = 2.67) and age (F = 6.49) had statistically significant effects on the components of tourist attractions influencing Thai tourists’ decision to visit Bang Ko Bua Community at the .05 level.