Development of Gastronomy Village Tourism in The Old Town Conservation Area, Thonburi Side

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to study the behaviour of tourists in community food cultural tourism in the old city conservation area on the Thonburi side and 2) to survey the opinions, attitudes and perceptions of tourists regarding food culture tourism in the community of the old city conservation area on the Thonburi side, evaluated with marketing mix theory, and 3) to find ways to develop community food cultural tourism in the old city conservation area on the Thonburi side. This research is mixed research methods, combined with quantitative and qualitative research, studied with a sample group of Thai tourists who visit cultural and food tourism attractions in the community—using the random sampling method of 400 people. The administration of questionnaires gathered the data for this study and subsequently subjected it to descriptive statistics analysis. These statistical measures included frequency values, percentages, means, and standard deviations. As for the qualitative research, the informants were selected from purposive random sampling from government agencies, the private sector, and the community sector, which are responsible for planning and promoting organizations and have the power to decide on the guidelines for promoting that organization, including those 8 people had benefits or were affected by tourism in the area. Data were collected using interviews. Data were analyzed using content analysis methods. The research found that 1) Most tourists travelled to cultural tourist attractions, food, and the old city conservation area on the Thonburi side to find new travel experiences with friends/acquaintances during Saturday-Sunday. Depending on the occasion, there was a travel expense of 501-1,000 baht per time; most visited cultural tourist attractions, food, and the old city conservation area on the Thonburi side. Favourite tourist attractions include the Kudi Chin community and Thonburi district. Wang Lang Market, Bangkok Noi District, Phlu Market, Thonburi District, and Wang Derm District, Bangkok Yai District, respectively. 2) Tourists' opinions, attitudes and perceptions regarding tourism and food culture in communities in the Thonburi Old City Conservation Area using the marketing mix factor theory were at the highest level overall in all aspects (average 4.31). When considering each aspect, it was found that the aspect with the highest average was the service personnel aspect (average 4.53), followed by the service process (average 4.47) and products (average 4.44). 3) Guidelines for developing community food cultural tourism in the Thonburi Old City Conservation Area found that community cultural tourist attractions should be developed into areas to promote cultural tourism. Food according to the community's way of life, managing the transportation system on wheels and boat tracks to cover travel connections to reach tourist attractions conveniently, adding signposts/restaurant signs/maps to be complete at access points to tourist attractions. There should be public restrooms, parking spaces, and enough vehicles. Also, tourism service personnel should be trained to have quality, be ready to provide services and organize activities to develop cultural tourism and food.