Designing a Temple Stay Program Based on the One in Nong Khai Province, Thailand

Abstract

The aims of this research are to study 1) tourists' opinions and demands for Temple Stay Program (TSP) based on the one in Nong Khai province, Thailand and 2) guidelines to design TSP based on the one in Nong Khai province, Thailand. The Mix method was applied and for the quantitative method, 400 questionnaires were collected and the data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and Chi-square tests. For the qualitative data, a focus group discussion was organized. The participants included monks, academics, tourism entrepreneurs, involved public organizations and local philosophers who proposed guidelines to design TSP based on the one in Nong Khai province, Thailand.The results showed that most of the tourists approved of the TSP in Nong Khai province, which has religious activities in tourism to enhance awareness of Thai religious values. Tourists' demands for TSP similar to the one in Nong Khai province, Thailand are at a high level. Guidelines to design TSP based on the one in Nong Khai province, Thailand include 1) establishing an official center of information for TSP in Nong Khai province 2) planning diversity for TSP packages 3) creating diverse and meaningful activities for TSP 4) establishing a training course on local handicrafts or local food for tourists, and 5) expanding roles of monks as guides in Buddhist cultural and local tradition activities.