The New Way of Tourism in Green Economy Style for Sustainable Community Development and Empowerment

Abstract

The New way of Tourism in Green Economy Style" has been adopted in Thailand to strengthen the social development of the communities and enhance the local development to achieve a sustainable and resilient framework. This article aims to study the context, model, process, success factors, and ways to expand tourism management results of the model to the communities in Thailand. This study adopts mixed methodology research. The study area consisted of the Pak Phanang Community in Pak Phanang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province; the Ton Duan Community in Khuan Khanun District, Phatthalung Province; and the Khlong Dan Community in Ranod District, Songkhla Province. The sample size is 1200 respondents, inclusive of 400 respondents from each of three study area communities. The key informants consisted of a group of tourists in the model community, a group of executives/boards/vendors, and a group of academics and travel agency representatives. The study found that the context of the three communities facilitated the emergence of management of the “New Way of Tourism in Green Economy Style”. The process is divided into three steps. Firstly, Community Based (CBT) consists of Natural Resources and Culture, Community Organization, Management and Learning. Secondly, the 7 Greens consist of Green Hearts, Green Communities, Green Attractions, Green Activities, Green Logistics, Green Services, and Green Plus. Lastly, the Profit RBG-P-C Concept, which consists of Return of Profit to Community, Bring Profit to Take Care of Community, and Giving Profit Back to the Community. Factors contributing to the success of tourism management in the model communities include leadership factors, structural and workflow factors, participation factors, and other factors. The guidelines for expanding tourism management will use the model for expanding the results together with the propulsion mechanism, including building cooperation from the people, management of natural resource use and the environment, building faith for green tourism, and the distribution of profits universally and fairly. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2024-05-04-015 Full Text: PDF

Keywords

• best practice community for tourism management
• new tourism
• green economy
• sustainable development.