Belief, Narratives and History of the Lao-Thai Border Tourist Attraction in Ubon Ratchathani Province: Development of Cultural Capital to Increase Tourism Values

Abstract

The purposes of this research article were: 1) to gather information about the beliefs, stories, and history that constituted the cultural capital of the research area and 2) to disseminate the cultural capital, which represented the identity of the area, as a guideline for developing community potential and enhancing the value-added of tourism. This qualitative research utilized in-depth interviews with a group of key informants, selected purposively from local scholars, community leaders, and villagers aged 50 years and older. A total of 30 individuals were interviewed across 6 districts, namely Khemmarat, Natan, Pho Sai, Sri Mueang Mai, Khong Chiam, and Sirindhorn. Data analysis involved contextual analysis and was presented descriptively.

The findings of this research found that 1) categorized beliefs, stories, and history related to tourist attractions into 3 characteristics: 1. morality tourist attractions, featuring four types of stories and beliefs about noble monks, important Buddha images, Phaya Naga, significant individuals, and one historical account concerning archaeological sites. 2. Landform tourist attractions, with two types of stories describing the appearance of the places and narrative stories connected to nearby tourist attractions. Additionally, there was one belief associated with trances of prehistoric people in the area. 3. Wisdom tourist attractions, displaying two characteristics: stories interweaving the origins of wisdom and histories linked to wisdom.

2) Furthermore, the study of these three characteristics of tourist attractions revealed that they represented the cultural capital that could promote tourism. This cultural capital included stories about important ancient Buddha images, noble monks, archaeological sites, historical sites, hand-woven handicrafts, local cuisine, natural attractions, as well as beliefs and faith in Phaya Naga. However, no written information about this cultural capital had been collected previously. Therefore, the researcher gathered and created knowledge for dissemination in two formats. 1. Creating a book about the beliefs, stories, and history of the Thai-Lao border region in Ubon Ratchathani province. This book was distributed to 10 schools across all 6 districts for using in the local curriculum. Interviews with teachers and young people who had read the information from the books revealed that the younger generation gained more knowledge and stories about tourist attractions. They were able to narrate the stories about the places they had learned about through reading the books and conducting additional research. Additionally, some groups of young people used this information to guide tourists. 2. Publishing information about the beliefs, stories, and history of these tourist attractions online through the R-Sa Pa Tiew YouTube channel, which had a substantial number of subscribers. This online dissemination of information aimed to bring cultural capital to the forefront, creating value and enhancing tourism potential. The research results could serve as a valuable guideline for creating historical tourism routes, cultural tourism experiences, and geological tourism opportunities.