Creating Participatory Communication Model for Promoting Tourism based-on Ethnic Cultural Identity of Nakhon Nayok Province, Thailand Operated by Active Elderly

Abstract

The concept of "Old people have value, not a burden," which is the creation of a place in society for the elderly with the status of a productive person, was the beginning of the research, which came from the strong emphasis on paradigm shift about the elderly in order to support the aging society. The objective of this research is to develop a participatory communication model for promoting tourism that is based on the ethnic cultural identity of the Nakhon Nayok Province and is operated by the elderly. This research is a mixed method research. The data were collected by use tools of quantitative, qualitative, and participatory action research. The research result show that the "Group meetings" is a communication that influences the participation of the elderly in the community, while "Online communication via platform LINE" is a secondary communication. With the expectation on the outcomes, design thinking has been used in this research. The participatory communication model to promote tourism based on the ethnic cultural identity of Nakhon Nayok province that was operated by the elderly have 9 steps that must be completed: 1) Study and review information before communicated with the communities 2) Deep  Interview with community leader 3) Surveying the elderly population's potential 4) Providing information back to the community 5) Finding an identity that is appropriate for the tourism culture and synthesizes a model that is consistent with the elderly. 6) Developing the potential of the elderly; 7) Group meetings for tourism set up 8) Experimental tourism and 9) Evaluation. This is a process-based innovation that enables the elderly to modify their own beliefs and take a greater interest in realizing their own potential.