A Study and Development of an Application for Managing Creative Community-Based Tourism Using a Marketplace Model: A Case Study of Tourism Communities in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Abstract

Research on the Study and Development of an Application for Community-based Creative Tourism Management through a Marketplace Model: A Case Study of Creative Tourism Communities in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in the form of an iOS Mobile Application, has the following objectives: 1) To study the problems, needs, and behaviors of tourists in tourist communities in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. 2) To design and develop a mobile application for creative tourism activities that meet the needs of tourists and communities. 3) To study the satisfaction of tourists using the mobile application for creative tourism in the Marketplace model. The research sample was divided into two groups: communities and tourists. For communities, the following were selected: Ban Hin Thern, Ma Rong, Ao Noi, and Thung Pradue communities. For tourists, the sample included those who participated in creative tourism activities in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. The research tools used were in-depth interviews and questionnaires to collect information about the behavior and needs of the application's functions. The research method was to develop the system according to the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) theory and Agile Methodology. The results of the development of the Marketplace model application include the following functions: searching for activities, identifying locations using GPS, sorting scores based on reviews, collecting activity information, booking activities, and paying for activities. The satisfaction with the system was found to have an average of 4.25, which is in the very satisfied range. Therefore, the application can be used as a prototype for creative tourism community management in the Marketplace model in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.