Approaches for Sustainable Creative Tourism Development in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and obstacles and to study guidelines for sustainable creative tourism development in Ratchaburi Province. Qualitative research tools including community study report form, tourist resource audit checklist, in-depth interview and focus group were used. Key informants of this research were representatives of the government, private sectors, residents and tourists in Ratchaburi Province totally 32 people. The results of the research revealed that (1) Ratchaburi Province has strengths regarding the development of sustainable creative tourism such as its easy access location which is suitable as a center for creative tourism destination as well as the cultural inheritance of 8 ethnic groups. Its weaknesses are such as the lack of a strategic plan and the working group for creative tourism development. Its opportunities are such as a green agricultural city policy by a government and its nearby provinces have high tourism potential which can be linked as a creative tourism cluster. And its obstacles are such as rival countries with a high tourism potential as well as the world economy is in a downtrend. (2) Approaches in order to develop sustainable creative tourism in Ratchaburi province are including the proactive approaches such as to brand Ratchaburi province as a Southeast Asian cultural creative tourism destination, the corrective approaches such as to create a strategic plan and establish an integrated work group of all stakeholders for sustainable creative tourism development, the preventive approaches such as to enhance its local agricultural economy in order to earn capital for creative tourism development, and the defensive approaches such as to manage tourism private sectors in natural attractions and vulnerable areas.