The Traffic in Ban Mae Kampong Community-Based Tourism, Huay Kaew Sub-district, Mae On District, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

The research was a qualitative research. The purposes of this research were (1) to study the traffic problems in Ban Mae Kampong Community and (2) to study factors affecting traffic conditions in Ban Mae Kampong Community. This study was conducted in both document and field studies. The tools used in the study were: (1) In-depth interviews (2) group discussions and (3) non-participant observation. The data were presented in descriptive analysis. The study revealed that Ban Mae Kampong Community was a village with natural and abundant forest. The community was located in the highlands which had a cool climate all year. People in this community had a unique way of life and culture including houses, dress, traditions and Pa Miang culture, hence the community became famous ecotourism destination. Ban Mae Kampong Community was promoted through various media and the number of tourists increased rapidly from 2,780 persons in 2006-2011 to 7,585 persons in 2012-2016. While most of the tourists were travelling by car, this caused traffic and accident problems. The factors affecting the traffic problems can be divided into 3 aspects: (1) physical factors of the community (2) factors of tourist behavior and (3) policy factors of the concerned agencies.