BEHAVIOR OF THAI TOURISTS IN SELECTING ACCOMMODATION IN MUAG DISTRICT, SURAT THANI PROVINCE

Abstract

The purposes of this study were 1) to study the behavior of tourists in choosing accommodation, and 2) to provide the guidelines for accommodation business development in Muang District, Surat Thani province. The research population for this research was 1,239,042 Thai tourists who travelled to Muang District, Surat Thani province. The sample was 400 Thai tourists selected by the accidental sampling technique. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The reliability test of the whole questionnaire was 0.77. The data were analyzed by percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The study indicated that most tourists who stayed in an accommodation had the main purpose of relaxing, with an average length of stay of 2 nights, they travelled with family, and booked a room in advance by phone, and received the information from the internet. They mainly chose to stay at a hotel, and would choose to return to the same hotel, if an opportunity occurred. The study revealed that, in term of accommodation selection, Thai tourists mostly made decision based on accommodation and service, followed by the staffing, location or distribution channel, price, facility and marketing promotion respectively. The guidelines for accommodation business development in Muang District are as following: the rooms should be continuously developed to meet the standards and safety of life and property of tourists, entrepreneurs must have a clear pricing approach, integration of group to set accommodation prices to create the same standard; provide travelers with information through the accommodation website or give brochures to tour companies; offer more online booking promotions; improve employee productivity; and provide both in-room facilities and fully equipped accommodations in order to meet the needs of tourists.