Secondary City Tourism : Alternative of Creative Attraction in Ratchaburi Province

Abstract

The tourism Industry plays an important role in driving the economy and generating enormous revenues for Thailand every year. Presently, the government promote tourism activities in various forms that focus on sustainable tourism and provide the spatial opportunities to the local. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched a secondary city tourism project in 55 provinces in 5 regions of Thailand, aiming to increase the number of visitors and enhance grassroots with local income distribution. Tourism resource owners need to participate. Ratchaburi Province is one of secondary cities that has tourism potential, namely long-lasting history, cultural identity of 8 ethnics, landscape diversity, close to Bangkok, and a border town. These are helpful in alternative tourism development, especially creative tourism. It can link thoughts, emotions, feeling, and relationships between tourists, attractions, and the owners of the tourism resource through experiences from local self-learning as a real-life, common values consciousness, self-reliant community, and the creation of Ratchaburi smart city.