The means of promoting Ayutthaya historical park as the cultural tourism in the sustainable way

Abstract

The research aims to 1) promote historic and cultural tourism at royal temples in Ayutthaya province; and to 2) identify ways of promoting cultural tourism sustainably. The research methodology is mixed-method. The quantitative data was collected from approximately 400 Thai tourists by means of questionnaires. The qualitative data was collected by means of interviews with 8 tourism stakeholders in Ayutthaya province. Data were analyzed to identify the frequency, percentage, mean (x̅) and standard deviation (S.D.) using SPSS. The research found that Thai tourists and tourism stakeholders support measures to develop Royal temples in Ayutthaya, including: 1)Wat Phra Sri San Phet; 2) Wat Panan Cheng Worawiharn; 3) Wat Na Phra Maen; 4) Wat Kasattra Thirat; and 5) Wat Phrom Niwat. In order to develop this royal temples there should be co-operation between locals and the private sector to promote sustainable tourism and to preserve the beautiful heritage sites as world heritage sites. The private sector and locals should support sustainable tourism activities and Thai culture, to attract tourists who can encourage socio-economic development. In addition, tourism facilities should be developed such as tourism landscapes, parking areas, tourism information, public toilets, and facilities for the elderly and disabled. Tourism policy should be supported through co-operation between locals and tourism stakeholders. Tourism management authorities and locals should support activities to preserve culture in order to attract more tourists and increase tourism revenue.