วิเคราะห์นโยบายท่องเที่ยวของรัฐบาลเพื่อกระจายจำนวนนักท่องเที่ยวและรายได้การท่องเที่ยว สู่จังหวัดที่ไม่ใช่เมืองหลวงผ่านโครงการระเบียงเศรษฐกิจของประเทศไทย

Dispersal of Visitors and Distribution of Tourism Incomes to Provinces Through Economic Corridors in Thailand: An Analysis of the Government’s Policy

Abstract

The objectives are to examine the government’s tourism policy on dispersal of visitors and distribution of tourism incomes to provinces through economic corridors in Thailand, compare the tourism policy formulation for the economic corridors between Thailand and Malaysia, and propose the recommendations about innovative tourism policy on dispersing tourists and distributing tourism incomes to provinces within the economic corridors and secondary cities in Thailand. The results indicated that the Thai government had formulated the tourism policy for the economic corridors based on their tourism strengths, potentials, and readiness. Such policies are expected to serve as the direction of tourism development and the tourism selling points of each economic corridor, except the Northeastern Economic Corridor. Tourism had not been identified as the engine of growth in this economic corridor. In addition, the Malaysian government used the concepts as Thailand’s to formulate the tourism policy for its country’s regional economic corridors to disperse tourists and distribute tourism incomes to other states. Moreover, the government is recommended to take both demand and supply sides into consideration when formulating the tourism policy, particularly for the provinces located in the economic corridors and secondary cities. For the demand side, the domestic tourism policy should be supported and promoted to disperse tourists and distribute tourism incomes to provinces in the economic corridors and secondary cities through the “We Travel Together” stimulus package. Meanwhile, the innovative tourism policy is pushed toward tourism stakeholders in provinces in the economic corridors and secondary cities through the monetary policy measures. Tourism innovations are expected to manage tourism-related businesses and provide impressive services to tourists and visitors.