A Model of Ecotourism Management in Marine Parks in Thailand

Abstract

               The objective of this qualitative research is to study the model of ecotourism management in marine parks in Thailand. The researcher employed the in-depth analysis and the focus group with marine parks’ directors, heads, and officers from six marine parks along with their tourists. Moreover, the participatory and non-participatory observation was also employed along with the descriptive analysis.

               The result of the study found that the marine parks have variety of the way in managing the ecotourism. However, the lack of effective management has limited the overall performance of the ecotourism management. The primary results of this study are as follow;

                   1)   In terms of tourism policy, the policy and planning has to embed principles on promoting sustainability, balancing conservation and utilization, planning, strategizing, and making policy that supports the tourism attraction management.

               2)  In terms of the tourism resource management, the tourist attraction has to be unique and attractive, the eco-system has to be fertile and varied, and the scenery and the landscape of tourist attraction have to be preserved.

               3)  In terms of tourism activity management, the activities should meet the demand of tourists based upon the specialty of each marine park such as culture, history, and wildlife.

               4)  In terms of travel services, the management on facilities, service quality, safety and security, the readiness of the infrastructure, and tourism attraction accessibility has to be considered.

               5)  In terms of economic and social management, the becoming a part of the regional and national development by consuming the local products and services is essential.

               6)  In terms of tourism alliance, the tourism linkage management between marine parks and local entrepreneurs has to be established.

               7)  In terms of tourism management, the consideration on the tourism size, the tourism layout, planning, and design based upon the uniqueness of the landscape is required in order to strengthen the tourism management including safety, local collaboration of private sector, and governmental tourism development agencies.