Application of Deming Cycle in Tourism Management of Ban Noenhom Community, Muang District, Prachinburi Province

Abstract

This research employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to study the tourism management of Ban Noen Hom community using the Deming Cycle. The key respondents were divided into two categories: 1) eight individuals in Tambon Noen Hom involved in tourism management, including community leaders and community enterprise leaders, and 2) 30 tourists selected from interested tourists over the age of 20. The research instruments included a focus group and a questionnaire, which was undergone quality testing using the Item-Objective Congruence Index (IOC), yielding an index of 0.98. Data analysis utilized content analysis and descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, and mean. The results revealed that in the Plan phase, the community followed the developed tourism routes, planned to revive cultural activities and assigned relevant stakeholders to coordinate landscape improvements to accommodate tourists. In the Do phase, planning and operations did not go as expected, requiring the community to adjust according to the situations. In the Check phase, the organization of tourism activities was generally rated at the highest level, except for the suitability of tourism routes, which was rated at a high level. Problems identified from receiving tourists included insufficient toilets and resting areas, unclear signs of tourism attractions, poor presentation techniques by community guides. Results from the focus group revealed suggestions for improvement in the Act phase. These included communicating with tourists to use the temple’s toilets or use the toilets of the group that was ready to service, creating resting seats with local natural materials, coordinating with relevant agencies to create signs for tourism attractions, using posters or boards to support presentations, arranging an area for tourists to sit, and separating demonstration areas from community for safety protection.