Communication Strategies By Using Community Participation Process During COVID 19 Of Ethnic Tourism: A Case Study Of Ethnic Profession Group at Khun Nam Mae Yao, Mae Yao Sub-district, Mueang District, Chiang Province

Abstract

During the COVID-19 outbreak affecting the ethnic tourism business in Chiang Rai Province, it was found that income and the number of tourists decreased. Ethnic tourism businesses need appropriate marketing communication strategies to survive and create sustainability. The research aimed to study the communication strategies for ethnic tourism using a community participation process during COVID- 19: A case study of ethnic profession group at Khun Nam Mae Yao, Mae Yao Sub-district, Mueng District, Chiang Province. This research is a qualitative research study using group discussions, in-depth interview, and participatory observation. The group of informants consisted of 20 people in the community and those involved in ethnic tourism in Chiang Rai. The results of the study showed that the participation communication process focused on 2 characteristics : 1) participation by persons in strategy formulations e.g. proactive marketing public relation by special event for promotion and social media advertising with Facebook fan page to increase word-of-mouth and reach a specific target. 2) Communication strategy content storytelling by ethnic identity and content design for new target group. 3) Network communication strategy; multiple stakeholders create partners to give more options for tourists by using a participatory process. The results of the research was a communication marketing strategy that was appropriate for the community context under the epidemic risk situation to be used to plan guidelines for tourism development and strengthening communities, especially communities in diverse ethnic areas.