Administrative Plan for Thailand to be a Quality Wellness Tourism Destination

Abstract

To elevate the capacities for health tourism, it is essential for the development of a country’s economy. This project aimed to develop a strategic plan and an operational plan for health tourism plans for sports and spas, to apply new knowledge sets on sports and spas for health tourism in real situations, and to collect the lessons learned from effective management of the research program.
The sample included 121 experts and entrepreneurs from sports and spa businesses, 200 stakeholders, and 15 researchers from research projects. The research instruments consisted of the SWOT data form, the entrepreneurs’ interview guide, the interview guides for social return on investment (SROI), and in-depth interview guides.
The results revealed that:
1. The health tourism strategic and operational plans for sports and spas were comprised of four strategies; 10 strategic objectives and 34 operational plans were developed.
2. The completed new knowledge sets on sports and spas for health tourism can be used in real situations. The results from the analysis of the SROI found that the SROI ratios were 22.54 and 25.43 for a 1 baht investment in the 2020 Chombueng Marathon and a spa business, respectively, using a 3.5% discounted rate.
3. Six themes of lessons learned emerged from the implementation of the research program as follows: 1) the research implementation plan, 2) the research program implementation as planned, 3) the outputs and outcomes of the research program, 4) obstacles, 5) success factors, and 6) characteristics, knowledge, and abilities of the research program director.
The results of this study can be used for the development of Thailand as a quality health tourism destination.