Indicator Development for Evaluating Wildlife Tourism Management in Thai National Parks

Abstract

The growth of wildlife tourism in Thai national parks has been well recognized and accompanied by concerns regarding its sustainability. This research developed indicators and evaluated the success of wildlife tourism management in three Thai National Parks: Khao Yai, Kuiburi, and Doi Inthanon. To develop the indicators, this study relied on literature reviews followed by a questionnaire survey to four target groups: park personnel, tourists, tour guides, and local leaders, and finished with an expert evaluation using the Delphi technique. The target groups ranked the importance of each indicator within a 5-point Likert scale from very low importance (0) to very high importance (5). A mean score of 3.41 or higher for an item was used as a cutoff for indicator selection from the results of the questionnaires and 4.20 or higher from the experts. The evaluation of wildlife tourism management using these indicators on each park was undertaken by the researcher, the national park superintendent, and a representative of NGOs working in the park. The study results revealed that there were 22 indicators in three groups: wildlife resources, tourism and visitor management, and institutional and managerial resources. The evaluation results of wildlife tourism management at Khao Yai, Kuiburi, and Doi Inthanon were rated as good management with scores of 1.94, 1.91 and 1.98 respectively, from a score range of 0 (need strong improvement in management) to 3 (very good management). For Khao Yai National Park, the least successful item was the interpretation program for tourist education and awareness raised (0.67), in Kuiburi and Doi Inthanon, it was the training of park personnel and nature guides on skill and knowledge in wildlife tourism (0.33 and 1.33, respectively).