Information Exposure and Community Participation in Low Carbon Tourism Management for Enhancing Tourism in Kanchanaburi Province

Abstract

This research is a quantitative study with the objectives to: 1) study media exposure and understanding of low carbon tourism management for enhancing tourism in Kanchanaburi Province, 2) study the level of community participation in low carbon tourism management for enhancing tourism in Kanchanaburi Province, and 3) compare personal factors, knowledge, understanding, and information perception with community participation in low carbon tourism management for enhancing tourism in Kanchanaburi Province. This study quantitative research with the sample group consists of 400 individuals from communities in Kanchanaburi Province, selected using convenient sampling. The research tools include questionnaires, statistical analysis such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, hypothesis testing including t-test, ANOVA (F-test), and correlation analysis using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The research findings reveal that 1) Most of the information is received through the internet/social media, accounting for 90.25%, and the knowledge and understanding are at a moderate level. 2) The level of community participation in low carbon tourism management for enhancing tourism in Kanchanaburi Province is also at a high level. 3) The sample groups with personal factors such as age, education level, occupation, and duration of residence in the area exhibit different levels of participation in low carbon tourism management, with statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level. However, sample groups with different genders and average incomes show no significant difference in participation in low carbon tourism management. Additionally, it is found that knowledge, understanding (r=.849) and information perception (r=.969) are the positive relationship with engagement is significant at the .01 level.