Area-Based Tourism Leader Curriculum Development

Abstract

This research aimed to develop area-based tourism leader program by adopting the training program creation concept of Taba, Saylor and Alexander, which consisted of 5 steps. 1) General information study included 3 samplings for data collection: 401 personnel from 2,517 local administration organizations by cluster random sampling to find tourism development needs; 5 executives from local administration organizations interview by purposive sampling to find necessities for area-based tourism leader development; 13 tourism specialists interview for area-based tourism leader training program. 2) The program drafting was conducted by the focus group of “area tourism leader training program” working group. 3) Program draft evaluation was conducted by 22 tourism specialists. 4) Program trial was administered by personnel from 30 volunteers of local administration organizations for 3 days and the designed and developed tourism leader training program, training manual, training visuals, and satisfaction assessment forms were utilized. 5) Program evaluation and edition were finalized.

            The results revealed that 1) general information necessary for area-based tourism leader training program development regarded 23 aspects: (1) tourist attraction management and specific tourist attractions; (2) area-based tourist attraction management for sustainability; (3) data and information management for tourism; (4) tourist attraction safety management by international standard; (5) Proactive marketing development through modern media and technological application for tourism; (6) tourism crisis management; (7) roles, mission, and authority of local administration organization for tourism; (8) potential development for government and private personnel, and community; (9) local wisdom and cultural heritage knowledge management; (10) innovation creation for innovative tourism; (11) service psychology, attitudes, and volunteerism; (12) service quality improvement; (13) tourism activity improvement; (14) tourism resources and landscape architectural dimensions; (15) tourism brand image; (16) network management and tourism provincial cluster connectivity; (17) various tourism route planning and development; 18) sustainably participatory environmental and natural resource management of community; 19) integrated strategic plans-based project; (20) project and budget writing, reimbursement regulations and project scrutiny, and project proposition; (21) achievement-based project monitoring and assessment development; (22) idea sharing for integration; (23) The King's Philosophy to tourism sustainability development. 2) There were 5 result contents of area-based tourism leader training program: (1) general information (program name, program features, and program application conditions; (2) program specific information (background, program principles, objectives; 3) program structure (training attendants’ qualification, expected learning outcomes, learning structure; (4) learning contents and evaluation (learning contents , leaning plans, relationship between leaning contents and expected learning outcomes, and learning evaluation; and (5) training guidelines and program standardization. 3) Program quality examination result by the tourism specialists revealed that the training program was suitably applicable by 100%, prior to its implementation. 4) Program trial results revealed that the attendants felt satisfied with the training program at “excellent level” 5) Program evaluation and edition were made to improve the program quality for its implementation in response to the comments from the tourism specialists and the program attendants in terms of contents as well as period of time.