AGRITOURISM EXPERIENCE: DEVELOPMENT STUDY OF COCONUT FARM IN SAMUT SAKHON PROVINCE

Abstract

The objective of this research was to investigate tourists' behavior and agritourism experiences, and to analyze the factors influencing agritourism experiences in the case of aromatic coconut farms in Samut Sakhon Province. Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 420 respondents, including individuals who had and had not previously participated in agritourism activities. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test to examine relationships among variables. The results revealed that 67.1% of respondents had previously participated in agritourism, while 32.9% had never engaged in agritourism activities. Among those who had participated in agritourism, the most important factors were attractive natural surroundings, environmental beauty, health-related trends, and safe food consumption. For respondents who had never participated in agritourism, the primary reason was a lack of information about agritourism destinations. The findings further indicated that agritourism experience was significantly associated with several variables, including prior participation in agritourism, gender, age, educational level, occupation, monthly income, and domicile. All of these variables showed statistical significance at the 0.05 level. The results provide useful insights for developing and improving agritourism destinations, particularly aromatic coconut farms in Samut Sakhon Province, and for enhancing their attractiveness in order to increase the number of agritourists.

Keywords: Agritourism, Coconut Farm, Experience