Guidelines for Promoting Cultural Tourism Image of the Thonburi Old Town Conservation Area

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to 1) study the cultural tourism image in the Thonburi old town conservation area and 2) analyze the guidelines for promoting cultural tourism image in the area. The conduct of this research was qualitative research in which the data were obtained from documentary data collection, interview and observation together with opening the community forum with 400 main informants which were divided into four groups: 1) tourists group, 2) community leader group, 3) local people group, and 4) government and private agency group. The results of the research, which were obtained from observation and interview, were divided into four aspects as follows: 1) Environment and area context which was divided into four aspects, namely (1) safety,              (2) cleanliness, (3) aesthetic natural places, and (4) transportation.  2) Cultural diversity which was divided into four aspects, namely (1) ethnicity,  (2) local play / performance, (3) food, and (4) custom and tradition. 3) Friendliness and kindness of people in the community which was divided into two aspects as follows: (1) being kind to visitors, and    (2) having good relations with tourists. And 4) Tourist service which was divided into four aspects as follows:  (1) facilitation in the tourist attractions,  (2) accommodations, (3) restaurants and merchandise spots, and (4) tourism activities. The results from the community forum found that there were five guidelines for promoting the image of cultural tourism in the area as follows: 1) Promotion of cultural tourism activities in the community, 2) Community development for safety, cleanliness and livability, 3) Cultural conservation and continuation of community's custom and tradition based on cultural diversity, 4) Creating a community of quality services, and 5) Systematic management of transportation.  The developed guidelines mentioned above focusing on the cultural tourism image will lead to the goal of economic drive which bring tourists to visit various tourist attractions in the area.  They also lead to job and income creations for people in the community based on using local culture as the key selling point along with maintaining the sustainability of the roots of local culture.