Participatory action research in community based tourism management for sustainable community development at Salak khok, Trat Province

Abstract

      This research aims to 1) study the circumstances and potential of community- based tourism management, 2) study the performance of community-based tourism development, and 3) develop the community-based tourism management model for Salakkhok’s sustainable development using the participatory action research in cooperating with the Baan SalakKhok community tour club’s administrative committee.

The results are as follows. The Baan SalakKhok community tour club organizes the community-based tourism in a form of cooperative. All members buy a share of the club and receive dividend annually which is calculated from 35 percent of all revenue. The revenue is from tourist activities that the club has offered to tourists including kayaking, traditional Thai boat (Rue Mart) riding, and dinner on traditional Thai boats. The other 65 percent of the revenue is allocated to the administration, conservation of natural resources, public benefit activities, and social welfare. Regarding the potential of community-based tourism management; the executive club committee is a group of leaders in the community and the manager manages tourism activities for club members. There is a lack of interest from younger generations in learning about tourism management, and a lack of continuous support from external agencies continuously In addition, there are, impacts of the growth and development of Koh Change on tourism resources of the community.

The club and the researchers have operatied community-based tourism development. The example of activities that the club does for the communities are development of the club administration, experimental homestay for tourists, encouraging environmental awareness of local residents project. The developing model of community-based tourism management for SalakKhok’s sustainable community includes 1) inputs which are the management concept, the club’s leaders and members, and tourism resources, 2) processes which are the administration of the club, tourism activity arrangement, benefits management, learning management, creating a link to the whole community, and collaborative networking management, and 3) the outputs to sustainable community development which are social, economic, and environmental aspects.