Abstract:
This research had the objectives: 1) to study the Tourism Authority of Thailands policy and direction of tourism promotion in the upper southern region for Muslim tourists from ASEAN countries, 2) to study the behavior of tourists, tourism patterns and tourism marketing factors that influenced the intention to visit the upper southern region of Muslim tourists from ASEAN countries, 3) to study the tourist attractions in the upper southern region of Thailand that were suitable for Muslim tourists from ASEAN countries, and 4) to formulate the Tourism Authority of Thailands marketing strategies of tourism in the upper southern region for Muslim tourists from ASEAN countries. A mixed research method was conducted by using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In a qualitative research method, the main target group consisted of the total of 30 people who were executives from government agencies and related associations, and in quantitative research, the data was collected from 400 Muslim tourists from ASEAN countries. SPSS was used for the analysis. The statistics used were frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The statistics used to test the hypothesis by comparing the means included one-way ANOVA and multiple regression analysis, and a focus group of 6 participants was also held. The results of the research revealed that tourism promotion consisted of policies related to tourism budget allocation, public relations for tourism activity routes, border crossing facilitation, cultural exchange, Halal creation, and tourism safety. The direction of tourism promotion consisted of promoting the development of tourism personnel, developing a halal route into a cultural halal route, running exotic tourism programs, providing adequate and religious food, increasing the number of hotels that could serve Muslim tourists, having a place to perform religious worship, making tourist attractions convenient, clean, and safe. Most Muslim tourists came to Thailand for the first time. The number of days to stay was 5-7 days. The main purpose of visiting the upper southern provinces was for tourism and leisure. The number of their companions was 4-6 people. The companions included their spouses or family members. Their accommodation type was a hotel/resort. The medium for searching for information was asking for information from acquaintances or organizations websites related to booking travel accommodation. The preferred patterns of tourism consisted of cultural tourism, domestic tourism to see local traditions of the provinces, tourism to relax or recover after illness, health tourism, unique ecotourism, archaeological and historical tourism, and rural tourism to participate in the lifestyles in the countryside. For a marketing strategy suitable for Muslim tourists' tourism, the hypothesis testing results showed that marketing strategies including product, pricing, distribution channels, and promotions had a statistically significant influence on the intention of re-visiting the upper southern region of Muslim tourists from ASEAN countries at the 0.05 level.