Development of Tourist Accommodations Organizing Community-Based Activities in Chachoengsao Province : Case Studies of Dheva Resort, Suanpalm Farmnok Resort and Bangpakong Boat Club & Resort

Abstract

          The development of tourist accommodations according to community-based tourism is a fast-growing niche market in Thailand. Therefore, this research aims to study concepts and processes of the development of tourist accommodations organizing community-based activities in Chachoengsao Province. By selecting three case studies of Dheva Resort, Suanpalm Farmnok Resort, and Bangpakong Boat Club & Resort, the information is collected from the interviews with the entrepreneurs and community committees, site survey, and the review on the Online Travel Agency websites from real guests. The analysis procedure includes interviews transcribing to locate the main ideas and summarizing all comments gathered from the websites to assess overall satisfaction received from the tourists.
          The result concludes that, 1) The common key concepts of these development projects are to create a business that supports their local community, love and value what you have, and be able to discover the potential of the land surrounded by environment and cultures of local communities. 2) Their development processes include the design that correlates with natural habitat and prioritizes using resources from the local area, especially workers and staffs. 3) Organizing activities collaboratively with local communities builds a strong relationship between the entrepreneurs and locals, which leads to satisfaction from both sides. 4) The entrepreneurs realize that organizing activities is one of the factors that helps increase occupancy rates and encourages tourists to revisit again. However, the overall tourist satisfaction score is mostly based on the exquisite scenery and high-quality services rather than the activities.
           In conclusion, the tourist accommodation development related to community participation will increase occupancy rates and economic benefits for the developer and community, respectively., which will help raise the occupancy rates and support the local economy. Nevertheless, community-based tourism can cause both positive and negative effects; thereby, good management should be considered in order to succeed. This research will be useful to apply in the development of the same type of project including management planning part by the relevant departments.