CREATIVE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SERVICE DESIGN:A CASE STUDY OF COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM OF BAN PANGHA,CHIANG RAI

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate creative and community-based tourism and develop a service plan for a Thai community based on these principles. The selected site for the research is Ban Pangha, Koh Chang Sub-district, Chiang Mai. Ban Pangha, a small village with a few previously existing cultural and creative sites, was chosen because while tourism, especially creative tourism, is increasingly important, it does not yet have an established service design or long-term plan for sustainable tourism. The research used a multidisciplinary research approach, including theories of design thinking, service design and service marketing mix along with theories of creative tourism, community-based tourism and sustainability to frame the research problem. The study used a multi-method qualitative research approach, with three research stages corresponding to one of the three objectives. The research was preceded by a site visit and expert interviews, which provided foundational information for the study. In the first stage, tourists were interviewed in-depth using individual and focus group interviews, identifying the essential characteristics of tourism in Ban Pangha. Next, local people and experts were interviewed and a workshop was held to develop the service design collectively with the local leaders and residents. Third, the information from previous stages was synthesized to produce a guideline and service design for creative community-based tourism in Ban Pangha. The practical importance of this research is that this plan can be applied for medium and long-term planning for sustainable tourism development. It also has some theoretical interest since it shows how these concepts can be combined.

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