Sustainable Ecotourism Development in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to: 1) study the level of sustainable ecotourism development of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, 2) study factors affecting sustainable tourism of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province,  3) study causal relationships between factors affecting sustainable tourism and sustainable ecotourism development of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. Samples used in the research was 179 government officers and private sectors that involved with tourism in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, which were percentage, mean, and standard deviation, and Inferential Statistics, which were Chi-square Test and Multiple Regression Analysis.

                Research results:

                1) Most respondents were male, aged 51 - 60 years, owned or worked in business, graduated with a bachelor's degree and had monthly income of 20,001 to 25,000 baht.

• There was a causal relationship between personal characteristics and the sustainable ecotourism development of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province at 0.001, and there was a causal relationship between age and sustainable ecotourism development at 0.05 levels of significance.
• As a whole, factors affecting the sustainable tourism of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province was rated at a high level, with a mean of 4.05 and a standard deviation of 0.73. As considered to each aspect, the most affecting factors were: physical environment, location or travel channel, tourism products, service process, personnel, price of products, services quality in tourist destinations, and marketing promotion respectively.
• As a whole, factors affecting the development of sustainable tourism of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province was also at a high level, with a mean of 4.07 and standard deviation of 0.73. As considered to each aspect, factors with most affecting the development of sustainable tourism were: the Tourism Basic Factors/ Resources, Tourism Management, Tourism Development, Tourism Business Service and the Quality of Tourism Staffs.

                5. There were causal relationships between factors and sustainable ecotourism development of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province with 0.01 level of significance, ordered by the Physical Environment, Marketing Promotion, Tourism Products,  Tourism Staffs, Tourism Product and Service Pricing, and Tourism Channel, and Tourism Service Process, respectively.