Creative Tourism Activities for Elderly Tourists in the Basin Community of Khlong Pa Payom - Khlong Ta Nae, Phatthalung Province

Abstract

This research aims to explore activities, culture, and local wisdom of the locals in the basin community at Khlong Pa Payom - Khlong Ta Nae, Phatthalung province, in order to develop creative tourism activities. The process involved 32 samples including community leaders, residents, knowledgeable villagers, business groups, and other stakeholders through a Participatory Action Research. Semi-structured questionnaires were used as a research tool. In-depth interview, focus group interview, and participatory/non-participatory observation were used to collect data. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Activities were evaluated by the following factors: 1) interest; 2) identity; 3) suitability; 4) availability; and 5) benefits. The results indicated a number of local activities, culture, and local wisdom as the area is resided by both Buddhists and Muslims. Interesting activities are those related to history and local herbal vegetables, which can be redesigned as a set of creative tourism activities for elderly tourists. This proposed set of activities takes 1-2 days, and consists of four creative tourism activities for the elderly tourists. These tourism activities are: 1) learning how to make herbal drinks; 2) learning how to cook spicy rice salad with herbs; 3) learning about herbal medicine; and 4) learning the history of Wat Khao Or. The results have been utilized in the community by sharing the lesson learned to the community; providing a manual for tourism promotion and development in the area; being a model for creative tourism at the Khon Khao Ya community which covers the upstream area; and trying out the program/activities. The feedback was positive and the proposed programs were well-received and evaluated at a good level. The study reflects that creative tourism activities can help encourage tourists to visit more often and also helps the community to be proud of their cultural heritage and can sustain the community in the long run.