The Guidelines for Developing Tourism Components of Bangkama Community, Ban Kha District, Ratchaburi Province.

Abstract

The Thai tourism industry continues to grow with the potential of its location, the diversity of its tourism resources, and the many potential opportunities for tourism. One of the diversities of tourism resources is communities based-tourism that is the study and learning about communities that is owned and managed by the community itself, utilizing natural resources and the environment, culture, way of life, and local wisdom to create experiences for tourists. This aims to strengthen communities, distribute income, preserve local identity, and promote sustainable development passed down from ancestors, varying according to the beliefs and faith of each community. Bangkama Community, Ban Bueng Subdistrict, Ban Kha District, Ratchaburi Province, is a community in a World Heritage valley with outstanding tourism resources. It has its own identity and can live in harmony with people and nature.  The declaration of the area as a World Heritage Site means that no sectors can develop the road for traffic in and out.  The difficulty of accessing the village has created tourism opportunities for the community, especially for adventurous tourists or those who enjoy exploring the way of life, local wisdom and environment.  Therefore, the researcher focuses on studying the components of tourism in the community, including proposing guidelines for developing the components of tourism in the Bangkama community that communities to apply development approaches to create tourism opportunities for their communities effectively. This quantitative survey aimed to (1) examine the components of cultural tourism in Bangkama Community, Ban Kha District, Ratchaburi Province, and (2) propose development guidelines. The data collection tool used was a questionnaire, collected from 280 visiting tourists. Data was collected using Krejcie and Morgan's formula at a confidence level of 0.05 through simple random sampling. and analyzed with descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation). Results indicated high levels for Attractions and Activities, whereas Accommodation/Food services and Accessibility were moderate.  Amenities and Ancillary services were low. (means = 2.31and 2.25, respectively). Notable activities included alms‐giving, nature trail hiking, hornbill watching, and ATV riding, underscoring strong experiential value alongside infrastructure and service gaps of destinations have led to development guidelines to further enhance tourism in the Bangkama community.