Abstract:
The purposes of this research were to 1) Study the potential of the sustainable tourism development of Nonthaburi Province. 2) Develop the strategic of plan for integrated sustainable tourism development in Nonthaburi Province. 3) Evaluate the implementation of the plan in a pilot project in a community in the province. The combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was used. The qualitative data were collected by using checklists a community study, in-depth-interview and focus group discussion administration with 31 key informants from public sector, private sector, local community and Thai tourists. SWOT Analyses was conducted with Participatory Action Research (PAR). The data were analyzed on the content and checked by triangulation techniques. Quantitative data were collected from 400 respondents compressing public sector, private sector, local community as well as Thai tourists. Statistics used to analyzed data were percentage, mean and standard deviation. The findings of the research were the significant natural resources in Nonthaburi Province were Chaophraya River, Mon way of life, merit making, Water festival Mon style, floating along the river to pay respect to the Buddha in 9 temples. Strategic plan for integrated sustainable tourism development of Nonthaburi Province identified a vision comprising 1) Nonthaburi Province will be the hub of world unique Durian species to preserve the environment. 2) This province will be the innovative tourism center for product and services to enhance local economy and the income distribution. 3) It will be the center of Mon Civilization Study Center to raise of cultural and spiritual awareness. It will develop tourism to create a sustainable society to become a pleasant city for living.