AN INTERPRETATION PLAN FOR HERITAGE TOURISM PROMOTION IN CHIANG SAEN DISTRICT, CHIANG RAI

Abstract

Chiang Saen is a town in Thailand, located along the banks of Mekong River with a long history and many heritage sites. Chiang Saen has a strong cultural heritage but inopportunely, they are still considered unpopular and there is a lack of activities within the cultural heritage sites that visitors may do. Thus, this research aims to promote Chiang Saen as a Cultural Heritage Tourism Destination by proposing contemporary strategies to improve the quality of the Cultural Tourist Destination. An Interpretation Plan will be the tool for presenting the values of Chiang Saen’s historic resources. An Interpretation Plan will also be used to identify an identity, target an audience and increase the appeal of Chiang Saen. The study will use both Quantitative and Qualitative methods; In-depth Interviews with stakeholders of the community, locals, local authorities, Tourism Authority of Thailand, academics from universities in Chiang Rai, entrepreneurs, and monks in order to attain the historical values, cultural/symbolic values, social values, spiritual/religious values and aesthetic values of Chiang Saen. A set of 400 questionnaires with a 0.9 IOC score was also administrated to locals and international tourists. The research found that the use of Interpretation to promote Cultural Tourism in Chiang Saen should emphasize on the theme of “The Historical Town with an Appeal of Buddhism Beliefs”. The Interpretation Plan Strategy for Chiang Saen are 1) to define significance, 2) to develop stories 3) to consider the audience 4) to determine an approach 5) to choose media and 6) to evaluate the strategy.