TOURISTS' PERCEPTIONS OF STRATEGIC DIGITAL COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT BY COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN CHANTHABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

The research aims to 1) examine tourists' perceptions of strategic digital communication management by community-based tourism destinations in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, and 2) compare these perceptions according to demographic characteristics, travel behavior, and digital media usage behavior. A quantitative design was employed with 400 Thai tourists aged 20 and above who had visited community-based tourism destinations in Chanthaburi and had accessed tourism information through digital media. Quota sampling was employed, with an equal number of samples selected from each tourism community using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with acceptable content validity and reliability, and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The study found that overall perception was high (average 3.98). Among the five dimensions examined, storytelling quality received the highest mean score (average 4.13), followed by communication strategy (average 4.10), audience analysis (average 3.98) and communication channels (average 3.90), whereas stakeholder engagement received the lowest mean score despite remaining at a high level (average 3.79). Perceptions differed significantly by age, travel frequency, and digital media use frequency (p < .05), while no significant differences emerged for gender, education, income, domicile, digital platform used, or preferred content type.

Keywords: Strategic Communication, Digital Media, Tourist Perception, Community-Based Tourism