Expectations and Satisfaction of Tourists towards Environmental Management at Sai Kaew Beac, Khao Laem Ya National Park-Mu Ko Samed, Rayong Province

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study 1) the general information of tourists visiting Sai Kaew Beach, 2) their level of expectation about environmental management at Sai Kaew Beach, 3) their level of satisfaction with environmental management at Sai Kaew Beach, 4) the relationship between tourists’ personal factors and their expectation and satisfaction, and 5) opinions and suggestions regarding environmental management at Sai Kaew Beach.

            The population for this survey research was 1,000 Thai tourists aged 15 years or over. The sample size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan table obtaining number 278 samples for the study. Simple random sampling was used with the confidence level of 95 percent. The data were collected in May 2018 and statistically analyzed into frequency, percentage, and mean. Chi-square test was also used to test the hypotheses.

            The findings showed that 1) the majority of the tourists were male with an age range of 20-30 years old. Most were office workers who had an income of 10,001-20,000 baht per month, finished Bachelor’s Degree, and were single. 2) Overall, the level of expectation of tourists about the environmental management of Sai Kaew Beach was high by sorting the average from high to low as follows: welfare and safety, attraction, facilities and utilities transportation, and the last aspect of environmental management. 3) For the level of satisfaction, it was found that the overall level was also high by sorting the average from high to low as follows: welfare and safety, attraction, transportation, facilities and utilities, and the last aspect of environmental management 4) Moreover, the results showed that gender, age, occupation, educational level, and marital status have a significant relationship with the expectation and satisfaction of the tourists about environmental management of Sai Kaew Beach at the significant level of 0.05. In contrast, the monthly income of the tourists did not show a significant relationship with their level of expectation and satisfaction. 5) The proposed suggestions for this study were that the road should be extended; there should be a sign indicating entrance and exit; and there should be more security staff within the area.