Creation Storytelling of Health Tourism Sites in Chiang Rai

Abstract

Presently, health tourism attracts more attention of tourists due to the health-conscious trend, a wish to live longer, illness, or tensions from work. Studies and research on health tourism have proliferated to keep pace with developments in the health & wellness sector. This research has the objective to study story-telling of health tourism sites in Chiang Rai province with the use of qualitative methodology. In-depth interviews were conducted with specific samples selected. The samples therefore comprised experts in communication arts, social sciences and tourism. The summary of the research findings are as follows:

Health tourism in Chiang Rai was gaining popularity among Thai and foreign tourists. Wellness science based on the local wisdom is adopted to provide services that enhance and treat the body, mind and spirit. Health tourism can tell a story starting with choosing an interesting story-telling method to convey messages about communities/products/services, culture and health tourism while adding value to health tourist sites. The story-telling process consists of 1) communities setting the objectives and target group based on each community’s basic information gathered by surveys. Members of the community brainstorm to determine the highlights of products/services/activities in terms of the physical and mental well-being before setting the theme for the story. This is the selling point around which a story should be built. Moreover, the value of health tourism sites that goes beyond concrete objects is presented since the target group, particularly the middle-class, want to be mentally satisfied. They want something more than objects that they can physically touch. 2) Using outstanding features of each community to set it apart from the others. Arranging interesting activities with the use of surrounding elements that support the story and make it even more outstanding. Examples of such activities include activities that take place in the morning until evening to demonstrate a health-conscious lifestyle for the body, mind and spirit. Such activities denote relations and interactions in an infinite circle such as The Cherntawan International Meditation Center or The Ban
Tha Khanthong Chiang Saen District that can create story telling in all aspects Which is a relationship between physical health that affects the mind and the soul. 3) Choosing communication methods through media to present the content in a short-story form and finally 4) Presenting the created story to the target group with regard to what tourists want and their perception of the community in the story.