A Conceptual Framework for Information Management in Digital Community-Based Tourism: A User Needs-Based Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/jiskku.2026.8Keywords:
Information management, Digital community-based tourism, User needs, Secondary cities, Electronic service qualityAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the information needs and information management problems associated with community-based tourism in the context of secondary cities. It also aimed to develop a user needs-based conceptual framework for information management in digital community-based tourism, using Chawang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, as a case study.
Methodology: This study adopted a qualitative research design combined with conceptual synthesis. Data were collected from 35 key informants, including community leaders or tourism coordinators, tourism entrepreneurs, representatives of relevant agencies, and digital service users, through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, with the Information Management Cycle (IMC) and the Electronic Service Quality (e-SQ) framework used as analytical lenses for data interpretation and framework development.
Findings: The findings indicate that information management problems in community-based tourism in secondary cities do not primarily stem from a lack of digital technology. Rather, they arise from the absence of a systematic information management process and a mechanism capable of coordinating the diverse information needs of multiple user groups. Tourism-related information was found to be fragmented, seasonally dynamic, and weakly integrated across sources. Based on these findings, the study developed a conceptual framework for information management in digital community-based tourism. The framework operationalizes the Information Management Cycle (IMC) as the core process, introduces a pre-IMC mechanism to coordinate user information needs before they enter the information management cycle, and integrates the Electronic Service Quality (e-SQ) framework as a cross-process quality governance mechanism.
Applications of this study: The proposed framework can serve as a conceptual guide for designing and improving information management in digital community-based tourism in secondary cities. It enables communities and relevant agencies to understand the sequence, roles, and relationships of information management processes more systematically, while also supporting user-centered quality governance of digital information and services. The framework may also be adapted for use in other community-based tourism contexts with similar characteristics.
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