Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to study community participation in the development of tourist sites in Pattaya Beach, Chonburi Province, and it was quantitative research. Data were collected by using questionnaire as a tool which was created by the researcher, and it was tested for content analysis and Cronbach's Alpha was used to test the reliability. Convenient sampling method was used for selecting samples. The study was conducted from 400 people living in Pattaya Beach area in Chonburi Province. The data were analyzed through statistical package at the statistical significance level of 0.05. The statistics used for data analysis consisted of percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation, and the statistical significance level was determined at 0.05. The results showed that most of the sample group was female customers whose age was from 31 to 40 years. Most were college students and most earned 5,001-10,000 baht salary. They were single and had lived in the community for 10-20 years. The means of two factors affecting the community participation in the development of tourist attractions were at the high level. The details were as follows: knowledge and awareness of the community and the strength of the community. The means of four aspects of community participation in beach tourism development were at the moderate level. The details were as follows: finding the problem and the cause of the problem, participation in operational planning, participation in planned action, and participation in monitoring and evaluation. People with different personal attribute factors had no difference in public participation in tourism development at the statistical significance level of 0.05. It is suggested that Pattaya should provide documents creating a sense of responsibility and broadcast its natural resources and the environment in the tourist attraction to the people and entrepreneurs in the community to know the right information, understand the importance of natural resources, and participating in conserving tourist attractions. Billboards, signs and brochures should be produced to advertise tourist sites and rules of tourist attraction for both Thai people and foreign tourists in the community.