A Guideline to Promote Cultural Tourism by the Community in Lam Pho Sub-District Bang Bua Thong District, Nonthaburi Province

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to 1) assess the natural and cultural tourism resources of the Lam Pho Sub-district community, Bang Bua Thong District, Nonthaburi Province in order to promote the cultural tourism, 2) examine the establishment of the community participation mechanism in the area’s development  as a cultural tourism attraction in Lam Pho Sub-district, Bang Bua Thong District, Nonthaburi Province, and 3) propose the guideline that would promote the development of jobs in cultural tourism in Lam Pho Sub-district, Bang Bua Thong District, Nonthaburi Province.  A community-based research CBR) was the research methodology.  The research team's monthly meetings were managed, the project introduction and meeting to exchange information about local tourist attractions was organized, a forum to share knowledge about strategies for community tourism development was held, a study trip to a model tourist community was planned, the community development to promote cultural tourism was evaluated, the preliminary cultural tourism route was planned, the results were summarized, a lesson learned forum was held with the community, an information return forum was set up for the community, and research reports were distributed.

 According to the research's findings, the cultural tourist resources of the Lam Pho community were in line with the five categories of community capitals: experiential, symbolic, social, cultural, and economic. The outcome of the Lam Pho community involvement demonstrated that the locals had taken part in identifying problems related to tourism, planning, making decisions, allocating investments, adhering to the plan, controlling, monitoring, and assessing the outcomes. In addition, the results regarding the creation of employment opportunities in cultural tourism indicated that local business owners and community members had devised a plan for setting up three different kinds of water tourism routes as well as Chinese language instruction for schoolchildren interested in becoming young tour guides for current tourist destinations.