Tourism demand in Nakhon Pathom for the development of revisit tourism destinations in Nakhon Pathom and the connected areas

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to: 1) study tourism demand of tourists in Nakhon Pathom Province; 2) study revisit demand in tourist attractions and 3) find out tourism the patterns for the development of revisit tourism destinations in Nakhon Pathom Province and its connected areas. It was a quantitative study of behavior and demand of tourists. The data then were analyzed by percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Regarding the result, it is found that: 1) the samples are more of female gender and are single of age between 35 -- 44. They live in Bangkok. They are government employees with monthly income of 5,001 -- 10,000 baht. Moreover, most tourists travel in the country approximately 5 times a year and often travel during the school-off. They traveled to Nakhon Pathom for the second or third time to pay respect to the Buddha images and they decided to travel based on opinions from their friends and their relatives. In addition, regarding the expectation of tourist attractions, they focused on the convenience of travel. They organized the trip by themselves, travelled by private car, and bought food souvenir. Furthermore, demand for revisit tourism in Nakhon Pathom has been rising due to tourism factors, tourists' opinions, and tourism demand in the province. The average expenditure is 2,001 -- 3,000 baht. It is also found that tourism demand was at a very high level. Considering the various aspects, it is found that tourists had the highest demand in service quality, tourism activities, and restaurants and bars. Moreover, from the tourists' opinions, it is found that the most suitable tourism pattern for Nakhon Pathom was leisure tourism, followed by agro-tourism, and spiritual tourism. Most tourists traveled for spiritual purposes, e.g., to make merit, learn about the history, and learn about the local way of life. Finally, the research found 3 patterns for revisit tourism, including 1) leisure tourism in local community, 2) agro-tourism, and 3) spiritual tourism. The finding leads to the creation of tourism activities, for example, those concerning spiritual tourism, which can properly respond to tourists' demand in Nakhon Pathom Province.