The The Marketing Strategies Affecting Decision Making Consumption of Local Food for GENERATION Y Thai Tourists in Phuket Province

Abstract

This research aims to examine the marketing strategies in the decision making in regards to the consumption of local Phuket food. With a focus on Generation Y Thai tourists on Phuket Province.
The study focuses on demographic characteristics of the Generation Y Thai tourists, marketing strategies for Phuket local food, and the decision-making on the consumption of Phuket local food for Generation Y Thai tourists in Phuket province. Sample size is 400 Generation Y Thai tourists in Phuket province. Questionnaire is the tool for data collection.  The statistics for data analysis are percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. The statistical analysis is processed by computer package program.

            Research results are as follows: The most Generation Y Thai tourists in Phuket were female aged 19-24 years. They were students studying for a Bachelor’s degree and single. Their monthly income was lower than 15,001 Baht. The top five provinces they often visited were Bangkok, Phang Nga, Songkhla, Krabi, and Trang, respectively. Moreover, it was found that the marketing strategies for the Phuket local food was
at a good level. Most of the participants decided to consumption of Phuket local food because the dishes were popular in the region. The Internet and websites were their sources of information, so they made the decision to consumption of Phuket local food by themselves. Generation Y Thai tourists in Phuket also mostly ate Phuket local cuisine from general restaurants. In general, they chose to eat consumption of Phuket local food three times on average and spent about 277 Baht per time. The top 10 popular dishes were Dim Sum, Mu Hong (Southern-style pork stew), Phu Ket rice noodles, Loba (snack), Hokkien noodles, O-Tao (fried mussels), Mi Thai (noodles with coconut milk), A-Pong (local dessert), Mi Hun Kraduk Mu (fried noodles served with soup), and O-ao (shaved ice dessert), respectively. After consumption, the perception of the tourists was on the uniqueness of the food. They experienced the real Phuket via the dishes and tended to return to try the local food of Phuket.

The hypotheses test results indicated that: 

1. The different demographic of the Generation Y Thai tourists in Phuket consisting of gender, age, education, career, and average income affected the different amounts of spending on the consumption of Phuket local food per time (Baht) with a statistical significance of 0.05 and 0.01, respectively.


2. The different demographic of the Generation Y Thai tourists in Phuket in terms of gender, age, and average income affected the different perception after consumption with a statistical significance of 0.05 and 0.01, respectively.


3. The marketing strategies, in terms of product, related to the Generation Y Thai tourists’ decision-making regarding the expenses per time (Baht). The relationship was at a low level and positive with a statistical significance of 0.05.


4. The marketing strategies, in terms of product, price, place, and promotion, demonstrated a positive perception after consumption at a moderate level with a statistical significance of 0.01.