Problems of Community Based Tourism and Government Agencies in Chumphon Province

Abstract

The study of Problems of Community Based Tourism and Government Agencies in Chumphon Province aims to investigate problems and obstacles in Chumphon’s community - based tourism, which is related to governmental regulations and practices, and find out a resolution of these problems in terms of policy recommendations, in order to develop the community-based tourism as a sustainable approach. This study is a mix - method research, which contains both quantitative and qualitative approach, and questionnaires are used as a tool for data collection. The data from this research was collected from people in community and organization who play a role in community-based tourism management, and seminars with government organizations and experts were held as a stage for discussion. The results reveal that most of participants who respond the questionnaires are men (62%). Participants are mostly 41 – 50 years old, the most educational background of participants is bachelor’s degree (36%), and the most salary of participants is between 21,001 – 35,000 baht.  The main problems of community-based tourism management are the difficulty of formal practices and document processes, the complication of coordinating with government staffs, and also the miscommunication between organizations and communities. Due to those problems, the overview of community-based tourism in Chumphon is not truly sustainable, on the other its cooperation is transformed to the conflict instead. Eventually, the researchers suggested the solution in the form of policy recommendations and sent them to related government organizations in Chumphon.