STRATEGIC PLAN FOR INTEGRATED SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SISAKET PROVINCE

Abstract

          Objectives of this research were to create strategic plan for integrated sustainable tourism development in Sisaket Province with quantitative research by creating quantitative research questionnaires which the data can cover the whole detail for creating strategic plan for integrated sustainable tourism development in Sisaket Province. Data were collected from government agencies, private enterprises, public units and tourists, totaling 400 people and analyzed by descriptive statistics and frequency, percentage, average and standard deviation.

          Findings were that Sisaket owned sea of fog, Pha Mo E Dang Cliff, waterfall attractions, agricultural attractions such as volcanic durian plantations, Srakampangyai Stone Castle, Srimongkolrattanaram Temple, Praipattana Temple, Dahlia Flower Festival, Volcanic Durian Festival, and the Traditional Donta of Thai-Khmer People. They were potential tourism resources, and there was a strategic plan for tourism. Its vision was to create the brand of ecotourism: “Small Green Town” on the Korat Plateau where tourists can go trekking, camping, stargazing, bird watching, studying ecosystem in mixed forest and the deciduous dipterocarp forest of the Lower Northeast, taking breath with fresh air, and seeing the view of Phanom Dong Rak Mountain Range on Pha Mo E Dang Cliff. Also, there were strategies for tourism development in Sisaket Province for sustainable environment conservation, strategies for land use to develop its tourist attractions and strategies for resource management. All strategies had implications and interrelationships, and as we executed under each strategy, there were projects that were needed to be implemented in order to achieve the strategies’ objectives, and every project was interrelated. For this reason, the strategic plan for integrated sustainable tourism development in Sisaket Province placed great emphasis on the environment, society, economy, culture and mental development.