THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL MEDIAS AND A MANUAL FOR PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST TOURISM IN THAILAND’S EMERGING CITIES

Abstract

This research article aims to study the market potential, the process of developing video public relations media and a digital infographic manual for international Buddhist tourism in emerging cities, as well as present and evaluate the quality of both media. It is mixed methods research between qualitative research with in-depth interviews with 9 key informants, where a tool used for data collection was an interview form as well as analyze the data based on content analysis; and quantitative research collects data with samples of YouTube video viewers from June to October 2021, where statistics for data analysis include frequency, percentage, and mean values. Evaluate the quality of the media based on the audience’s preferences for the video and by six experts.

The results of the research showed that: 1. international Buddhist tourism markets in emerging cities are caused by tourists' interest in Buddhism, who come to see the beauty of the temple and to practice meditation. The market is currently growing at a slowdown due to the spread of COVID-19. 2. The production process of video media and a manual consists of five steps: 1) gathering documentary and image data; 2) obtaining expert advice; 3) compiling information for use in the production process; 4) creating video clips or a manual; and 5) verifying accuracy and delivering the work. And 3. The results of the quality assessment of the developed video media and the digital infographic manual found that, overall, both types were rated at a very good quality level.