Thailand Museum Pass: Cultivating Development in Museum Tourism

Abstract

Since early 2000, the growing presence of museums in the tourism sector indicates an exciting milestone that “Museum Tourism” has emerged as one of the major products of cultural tourism in Thailand. New museums such as Museum Siam, Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre, Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall, Thailand Creative & Design Center, and National Science Museum’s Science Square, have been given a strategic role in assisting the development of cultural tourism. The impact the museum has on the cultural tourism sector is also becoming more and more noticeable. In this paper, driven by the researcher’s scholarly interest in museums and their relationship with cultural tourism, the researcher investigates the development of museum tourism in Thailand, particularly in Bangkok, and the specific objectives are twofold (1) To review the development of museum tourism in Thailand, focusing on the evolution of Thailand’s Museum Pass from 2013-2020. (2) To discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with the development of museum tourism in Bangkok. To achieve the research objectives, six knowledgeable informants from the cultural tourism and museum management field in Thailand were engaged as experts for this study. Their insights on museum tourism development in Thailand provide key data for this paper. The collected data suggests that Thailand’s museum tourism holds promise as a growing domain. From its initial involvement with only four museums in Bangkok in 2013, the Muse Pass program expanded its coverage to encompass 64 museums nationwide by 2020. However, it also highlights several areas where enhancements are necessary to fully capitalize on its potential. Such as the potential of museum tourism needs to be more clearly defined and managed. Museum tourism’s marketing and promotion strategy need to be more strategically designed. Key governmental and private agencies need to be more strategic in their partnership and project collaboration. By and large, this paper aims to offer an insightful overview of museum tourism in Thailand, delving into its status while analyzing the opportunities it presents as well as the challenges it faces.