Developing Community Entrepreneur’s Skill to Promote Creative Tourism in Ban Tha Sob Sao Subdistrict, Mae Tha District, Lamphun Province

Abstract

The research aims to: 1)Study the need to develop the skills of community entrepreneurs in creative community-based tourism. 2) Design a skill development approach for community entrepreneurs that aligns with their needs and potential in promoting creative community-based tourism. And 3) Evaluate the skill development outcomes of community entrepreneurs in creative community-based tourism in Tha Sop Sao Subdistrict, Mae Tha District, Lamphun Province. Key informants were selected using a chain sampling method of 50 community leaders and entrepreneurs in community-based tourism in the Tha Sop Sao Subdistrict. The research instruments included interviews with leaders and entrepreneurs. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study on the need for skill development among community entrepreneurs revealed a demand for enhancing skills related to community-based tourism and presenting cultural products for creative tourism. The design of the skill development approach resulted in a hands-on training program under the concept “One Day Trip @ Martha,” which received a very high satisfaction level from tourists, with an average score of 4.82. The evaluation of community entrepreneurs’ skill development showed that their knowledge and skills were at a low level (  = 1.62, S.D. = 0.41) before participating in the activity, while after the activity, they improved significantly to the highest level ( = 4.88, S.D. = 0.20). The t-test value was 33.93, with a statistical significance level of 0.05, indicating a significant increase in knowledge and skills after participation.