Management Value Chain for Agro-Tourism, based on a New Way of Life for Farmers in Nakhon Nayok Province

Abstract

          The objective of this research is to create guidelines for managing the value chain of  agro-tourism activities based on a new way of life for farmers Nakhon Nayok Province. The qualitative research was carried out by preparing the research tool as a semi-structured interview and consisted of in-depth interviews with 46 key-informants from the agricultural tourism attraction operators, tour operator, officials in the provincial tourism authority of Thailand, agencies officials in government, agencies related to agricultural tourism destinations including tourists. This study used the purposive sampling method as well as researching and collecting information on the internet, articles, books, related research and various documents that are secondary data used for data analysis and thematic analysis.
          Research results found that guidelines for managing the activity value chain of agro-tourism on the basis of a new way of life for farmers, including: 1. Designing activities of of  agro-tourism attractions by integrating activities public relations linking information on activities of agro-tourism destinations to visitors who may not have visited directly but come buy things, come see agricultural demonstrations, growing vegetables and fruits for types of tourism that involve visiting or stopping to purchase products during the travel route including for day trip types. 2. Ability of the operator able to explain agro-tourism activities in demonstration formats and providing knowledge of tourist attractions various stages of production that are prepared for both raw materials and equipment to demonstrate for tourists who visit tourist activities. 3. Service processes of tourist attractions include certainty in time management, flexibility, helping to increase service efficiency which is the detailed program of activities to be carried out gives tourists confidence by providing additional value to the tourist attractions visited. 4. After-sales service is a service used to increase or maintain added value of tourism services, including tourists' satisfaction and dissatisfaction with agricultural tourism destinations. Using technology as a tool to track satisfaction after receiving services create long-term with good relationships with tourists and visitors.