Conservation on Food “Mee Kudjig” for Promoting Gastronomy Tourism Following the Thailand 4.0 Policy

Abstract

The objectives of this study are 1) to analyze factors in local food conservation to promote food tourism according to the Thailand 4.0 policy, and 2) to sugession the guideline for preserving local food “Mee Kudjig” to promote food tourism according to Thailand 4.0 policy. Data collection was conducted in both qualitative and quantitative reseachs with in-depth interviews, focus group meeting, workshop and online questionnaires via Google form. The sample group is tourists who come to travel in Kudjig community. Key informents were government agency, private agencies and communities in Sung Noen District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, which is related to local food tourism “Mee Kudji”. The quantitative data analyzed by structural equation model (SEM), while the qualitative data was analyzed data content. The results of the research found that cultural factors in the area, benefit factor and accessibility factor had affecting to the promotion of food tourism according to the Thailand 4.0 policy, therefore, the guideline for preserving local food "Mee Kudjig" was proposed to promote food tourism according to Thailand 4.0 policy as follows; 1) guidelines for cultural promotion in the area, 2) guidelines on benefits Mee Kudjig products, and 3) accessibility location guidelines.