Ecotourism Administrative Innovation of The King's Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project Laem Phak Bia Sub-District, Ban Laem District, Phetchaburi Province

Abstract

The objective of this research was to study the process and innovation of ecotourism administration of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project (LERD Project), Ban Laem District, Phetchaburi Province, using qualitative research methods. The interview form was used for collecting data through interviews with 33 individuals, including project staff, local leaders, tourists and traders, and a group interview of 18 people consisting of members of the Laem Pak Bia Subdistrict Administrative Organization and villagers in Moo 1, Laem Pak Bia Subdistrict, selected by purposive sampling method. The data were analyzed by using content analysis. The research results were that the ecotourism management process of LERD Project was the personnel position rotation by setting the primary and secondary workloads to all staff positions to be able to rotate their position. The number of tourists were also recorded. And, the new facilities in various services were also created for tourists. For the level of newness, it was found that the eco-tourism administration of LERD Project was at an organizational level, focusing on developing the organization to be able to accommodate both the environmental study tours and tourists who visit the project at the same time, and the innovativeness level, based on the concept of Rolf Smith's 7 levels of change, in promoting ecotourism of LERD Project was at level 5, a copy or imitation of the way others did. And, if LERD Project needed to create higher level of administrative innovation, Destination Management Organization (DMO) and Destination Management Plan (DMP) had to be established with local cooperation.