The Development of Application and Public Relations Media to Promote Ecotourism by Community Participation in Phang Nga Province

Abstract

          The objectives of this research were: 1) to design and develop community-based ecotourism promotional media through participatory processes; 2) to evaluate the appropriateness of the promotional media and the quality of the application; and 3) to examine users’ satisfaction. The sample group consisted of community leaders, local residents, and tourists visiting the OTOP Nawatwithi tourism community, totaling 233 participants. Additionally, 5 experts were involved in evaluating the promotional media. Research instruments included the developed media, an appropriateness and application quality assessment form, and a user satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation.
           The findings revealed that the developed promotional media demonstrated a high level of content appropriateness and application quality (=4.50, S.D.=0.45). Moreover, users’ satisfaction with the promotional media and application was at the highest level (=4.57, S.D.= 0.30). These results indicate that the developed promotional media and application effectively enhanced the ecotourism experience within the study area and possess strong potential to serve as tools for advancing community-based ecotourism in Phang Nga Province in alignment with the Thailand 4.0 policy framework.