Guidelines for Enhancing the Perceived Image of Secondary City Tourism in Thailand: A Case Study of Sing Buri Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were (1) to study the perception of tourism image of Sing Buri province that had influences on intention to revisit Sing Buri province; and (2) to propose guidelines for enhancing tourism image awareness of Thai tourists to promote their intention to revisit Sing Buri province. This research was a mixed-method study. In the quantitative study, a questionnaire was used as the research tool for collecting data from 400 Thai tourists who visited Sing Buri province. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics of multiple regression analysis. In the qualitative study, data were collected by semi-structured interviews of 12 stakeholders of Sing Buri tourism from the state and private sectors. The collected data were analyzed with thematic analysis. The research findings showed that Thai tourists had opinions that the aspects having the most influence on their intention to revisit was the perceived image of safety and potential of tourist attractions, followed by the accessibility to tourist attractions, the products and services, and the society, culture and traditions, respectively. Based on the findings from both the quantitative and qualitative studies, the researcher acquired the guidelines for enhancing the image of tourism in order to encourage Thai tourists to revisit Sing Buri province as follows: (1) guidelines for increasing the frequency of security checks; (2) guidelines for creating understanding about tourism of people in the local area; (3) guidelines for connecting bus routes of traveling to cover all tourist attractions; (4) guidelines for increasing product diversity and controlling the entry of foreign workers in the service sectors; and (5) guidelines for the development of creative tourism for learning.