DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL PUBLIC RELATIONS MEDIA TO PROMOTE BUDDHIST TOURISM OF TONCHUEAK TEMPLE, NONTHABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

This research article aimed to 1) Develop digital promotional media to support Buddhist tourism at Tonchueak Temple, Nonthaburi Province, and 2) Assess the satisfaction of the sample of the developed digital public relations media. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative data were collected from six purposively selected key informants, including two temple personnel, one media developer, and three Buddhist tourists. For the quantitative component, the sample consisted of 287 general Buddhist laypeople, determined using Cochran’s formula. The research findings were as follows: 1) The developed digital public relations media to promote Buddhist tourism of Tonchueak temple has evolved into a multimedia format with a duration of 2.39 minutes. 2) The satisfaction assessment revealed that viewers valued the usefulness and potential applicability of the media more than its content or presentation style. Overall satisfaction was rated at a high level. The most highly rated aspect was agreement with using the media as a promotional tool for tourism at Tonchueak Temple, followed by its effectiveness in stimulating interest in visiting the temple. It is anticipated that the digital promotional media developed through this research will contribute to the accumulation of online social capital for Tonchueak Temple, thereby creating opportunities for increasing economic capital and supporting the revitalization of the temple’s cultural capital.