Branding of Agricultural Tourism Destinations Suphattraland Park, Rayong Province

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the process of branding the agricultural tourism destination of Suphattra Land Park, Rayong Province. It is a qualitative research using content analysis, participatory field visits and in-depth interviews with 3 groups of informants: 4 entrepreneurs and employees, personnel from government agencies involved in tourism promotion, 4 agricultural workers and 15 Thai tourists visiting Suphattra Land Park.

The research results found that Suphattra Land Park has a process for building tourist attraction brands in line with the concepts of Morgan and Pritchard and Word Tourism organizations and European travel commission (2009), all 10 steps, with the steps that Suphattra Land Park gives the most importance to: Brand Performance Audit by checking from receiving the award of tourist attractions for learning Organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The less important step is analyzing competitors because Suphattra Land sees itself as the country's first agricultural tourism destination and the largest which is difficult for competitors to imitate. In addition, with the essence of an agricultural tourism destination in the form of fruit orchards with seasonal restrictions, Suphattra Land Park has created a brand as a learning tourist destination. As for the process of creating an agricultural tourism destination brand that is different from creating a brand for other types of products, that is, the process of consulting with stakeholders. Suan Suphattra Land gives importance to farmers; government agencies and travel management agencies to work in a collaborative manner.