Chapter 5 Fieldwork: Findings and Analysis
5.1 The tourist behaviors toward “nostalgia tourism”
The content in this chapter describes the presentation from the field study with questionnaires asking tourists who visited, along with observing participants, in order to record their opinions and behaviors in the “nostalgia tourism” type in the form of floating market. The order of presentations is as follows: general information of tourists about their opinions, and behaviors toward this type of tourist in the central region, which is the study area as described below.
General Information of survey sample
In this section, the demographic data from surveying a sample group of 200 tourists are presented, including gender, status, age, education, career, salary and hometown.
Table 5-1: Percentage of the sample groups categorized by gender
Gender People Percentage
Male 72 36.0
Female 128 64.0
Total 200 100.0
According to Table 5-1 most of the sample group were female tourists more than male.
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Table 5-2: number and percentage of the sample group categorized by age
Age People Percentage
18-24 54 27.0
25-34 65 32.5
35-44 45 22.5
45-54 30 15.0
>55 6 3.0
Total 200 100.0
As shown in the Table 5-2, the total sample group is 200 tourists. Categorized by age, the majority of tourists are ages 24-25 totaling 65 people or 32.5%, secondly ages 18-24 totaling 54 people or 27%, ages 35-44 totaling 45 people or 22.5%, ages 45-55 totaling 30 people or 15% and ages 55 and up totaling 6 people or 3% respectively., as shown on the chart below.
From this can be determined that for the average age of the tourists who come to visit the floating market (Amphawa, KhlongLad Mayom and Taling Chan floating market), the age distribution was fairly even among the sample for those under 55.
Table 5-3 :Number and percentage of the sample group categorized by hometown
Province People Percentage
Bangkok 121 60.50
Other 79 39.50
Total 200 100.00
According to the Table 5-3 the sample group categorized by their hometown, there are 121 Bangkokians or 60.5% and 79 people from the other provinces or 39.5%
(Other).
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Table 5-4: Number and percentage of the sample group categorized by career
Current Career People Percentage
Students 45 22.50
Employee of private companies 70 35.00
Governmental officer/State Enterprise
officer 30 15.00
Business owner 39 19.50
Retired state officers 3 1.50
Others 13 6.50
Total 200 100.00
According to Table 5-4 the sample group categorized by their career, most are employees in private companies for 70 people or 35.0%; secondary are students for 45 people or 22.5%; 39 people own a business or 19.5%; 30 people are governmental officers/state enterprise officers or 15.0%; the others are 13 people or 6.5% and retired state officers account for 3 people or 1.5% respectively.
Table 5-5: Number and percentage of the sample group categorized by education
Education Frequency Percentage
Below high school 14 7.00
High School Diploma 21 10.50
Vocational Certificate/ High
Vocational Certificate 25 12.50
Bachelor Degree 103 51.50
Master Degree 21 10.50
Higher than Master Degree 16 8.00
Total 200 100.00
According to Table 5-5, the sample group categorized by their education, the majority of tourists were well educated on average.
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Table 5-6: Number and percentage of the sample group categorized by salary
Monthly Salary(Baht) People Percentage
Below 10000 26 13.00
10001-20000 77 38.50
20001-30000 43 21.50
30001-40000 24 12.00
40001-50000 12 6.00
> 50000 18 9.00
Total 200 100.0
According to the Table 5-6 the sample group categorized by their monthly salary, most of them earn 10,001-20,000 baht/month totaling 77 people or 38.5%; there are 43 people or 21.5% earn 20,001-30,000 baht/month; 26 people or 13.0% earn below 10,000 baht/month; 24 people or 12.0% earn 30,001-40,000 baht/month; 18 people or 9.0% earn more than 50,000 baht/month and 12 people or 6.0% earn 40,001-50,000 baht/month respectively.
Table 5-7: Number and percentage of the sample group categorized by travel duration
Number Frequency Percentage
1 Day 87 43.50
2 Day 69 34.50
3 Day 44 22.00
Total 200 100.00
According to Table 5-7, the mostly of those sampled were day trippers.
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Table 5-8: Number and percentage of the sample group categorized by transportation method
Transportation Frequency Percentage
Bus 38 19.00
Taxi/Van Taxi 12 6.00
Private Car 142 71.00
Others 8 4.00
Total 200 100.00
According to Table 5-8, the sample group categorized by transportation, most people traveled by private car.
Behaviors and factors in travelling
Behaviors and factors in travelling of Thai tourists influence the business of
“nostalgia tourism”.
In this section, the results of the questionnaire regarding the study are presented in order to know the factors and behaviors of tourists travelling to the floating markets in the Central region area. There are some alternative questions, order arranging, and open-ended questions. The details of the questions consist of issues of the behaviors and factors in travelling including the satisfaction with the “nostalgia tourism”.
The behaviors and factors in travelling of sample group of tourists influencing the
“nostalgia tourism” help us realize the motivations persuading the tourists in traveling, frequency of travel, accompanying persons, acknowledgement of PR information, and tourist sites, as well as the activities to be done during traveling.
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Table 5-9: Tourists‟ perception of floating market
Type of tourism Frequency Percentage
Community-based tourism 41 20.50
Lifestyle tourism 53 26.50
“nostalgia tourism” 47 23.50
Heritage tourism 59 29.50
Total 200 100.00
From Table 5-9 Attitudes were fairly equally divided over what aspects the floating market embodied most.
Table 5-10: Tourists „satisfaction
Fondness in traveling to floating markets Frequency Percent
Fond of 186 93.00
Not fond of 14 7.00
Total 200 100.00
From Table 5-10, The majority of the sample they were fond of with the floating market,and ancient market. But some (14) of them reported that they were not fond of it.
Table 5-11: Tourists‟motivation
Reasons for traveling Frequency Percentage
Wanting to find the tourist sites for resting / Wanting
to escape from the chaos of daily urban life 97 48.50 Convenient traveling and the distance is not too far 34 17.00 Wanting to impressions of the nostalgia
atmosphere/past memory 57 28.50
Fond of simple lifestyle and traditional cultures 11 5.50
Visiting the award-winning tourist sites 1 0.50
Total 200 100.00
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From Table 5-11, Nearly half sought out the floating markets in order to find rest and relief, while close to one third were interested for nostalgic purposes.
Convenience of location was a deciding factor for nearly one in five people.
Table 5-12: Frequency of visit
Frequency in traveling Number (persons) Percentage
Coming for the first time 11 5.50
1-2 times 37 18.50
3-4 times 46 23.00
More than 5 times 106 53.00
Total 200 100.0
From Table 5-12, a strong majority were frequent visitors, suggesting significant value in repeated trips and not just a one-time "experience collector" trend.
According to the results of this study, it is found that the frequency in traveling is related to the reasons in traveling; that is, the tourists want to utilize travel for finding the tourist sites for rest and recreation, and they want to escape from the chaos of daily urban life.
Table 5-13 : Accompanying persons in traveling Accompanying persons in
traveling Number (persons) Percentage
Alone 20 10.00
With families 87 43.50
With friends 83 41.50
With colleagues 8 4.00
With educational institutes 2 1.00
Total 200 100.00
The data agrees with that the researcher has involved in the Participant observation. It is found that most tourists travel with families. The experience of nostalgia does not
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necessarily need to be by direct experience only. It can also be transferred from generation to generation through the sharing of stories, place visiting, and things to be seen in the nostalgia tourist destinations in the type of floating markets. The parents can show and tell the stories from the environment and things which the parents used to see and use in the past.
Table 5-14: Duration spent at the destination
Duration spent in tourism Number(persons) Percentage
Less than 1 hour 4 2.00
2-3 hours 141 70.50
4-6 hours 38 19.00
than 6 hours 17 8.50
Total 200 100.00
From Table 5-14, Most tourists stay on average 2-3 hours, although almost a third may extend their stay for far longer, especially if lodging there overnight.
Table 5-15: The highlights of the “nostalgia tourism” destinations Highlight of the tourist destinations Number (persons) Percentage
Food 128 64.00
Souvenirs 23 11.50
Environment 15 7.50
Recalling to the nostalgia feeling 34 17.00
Total 200 100.00
From Table 5-15, Most tourists are impressed by the food on offer, although a substantial number also are affected by the souvenirs and nostalgic atmosphere.
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Table 5-16 : The items consumed
Things making them recall the past Number (persons) Percentage Houses/Buildings/ancient shops/ food/
traditional-recipe snacks 110 55.00
Ancient toys/ancient utensils 36 18.00
Lifestyles of community people
/retro-photographing 39 19.50
Cruising for viewing the lifestyles 15 7.500
Total 200 100.0
Table 5-16 sought to gauge nostalgic triggers. The most popular things making the sample of the group recall the past were houses, buildings, ancient shops, food, traditional recipes and snacks. The next most popular things were lifestyle of the community people, retro-photographing. The next were ancient toys and ancient utensils. The least frequent answer was cruising for viewing the lifestyle.
Table 5-17: Tourists‟ favorite activities
Favorite activities
Number
(persons) Percentage
Eating food/ traditional-recipe snacks 145 37.90
Buying products / nostalgia souvenirs 70 18.30
Visiting the houses/recalling the lifestyles 74 19.30 Taking photos of places/retro- photographing 80 20.80
Cruising for viewing the lifestyles 14 3.70
Total 383 100.00
From Table 5-17 above, it is found that the activity which most tourists attend is eating food/ traditional-recipe snacks for 145 persons or 37.95%, followed by taking photos of places/retro-photographing for 80 persons or 20.8%, visiting the houses/recalling the lifestyles for 74 persons or 19.3%, buying products / nostalgia
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souvenirs for 70 persons or 18.3% and the least is cruising for viewing the lifestyles for 14 persons or 3.7%, respectively.
Table 5-18: The familiarity of visiting floating markets Previously visited Floating markets in the
central region area
Responses
Percentage N Percentage
Amphawa 80 50.6 50.60
Taling Chan 16 10.1 10.10
Thaka 3 1.9 1.90
Klong Lat Mayom 26 16.5 16.50
Bangnamphung 4 2.5 2.50
Don Wai 16 10.1 10.10
Kwan-Riam 3 1.9 1.90
Pattaya Floating Market 6 3.8 3.80
Ayothaya Floating Market 2 1.3 1.30
Sam Phan Nam 2 1.3 1.30
Total 158 100.0 100.00
Regarding Table 5-18, the researcher asked from the group of tourists traveling to the nostalgia tourist destination in the type of floating markets where the tourists have visited. The research results reveal that Amphawa Floating Market is the market where most tourists have visited, by 80 persons or 50.6%, followed by Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market for 26 persons or 16.5%, Don Wai Floating Market and Taling Chan Floating Market in the equal number of 16 persons or 10.1%, Pattaya Floating Market for 6 persons or 3.8%, Bangnamphung Floating Market for 4 persons or 2.5, Kwan-Riam Floating Market and Thaka Floating Market in the equal number of 3 persons or 1.9%, and the least is Ayuthaya Floating Market and Sam Phan Nam Floating Market in the equal number of 2 persons or 1.3%, respectively. This is probably caused by the fact that this is the most recently constructed floating market, causing the tourists to know the place less.
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Moreover, according to the results of surveying the opinions of tourists on the nostalgia tourist destinations in the type of floating markets, the floating market where the tourists have visited most is Amphawa Floating Market. It may be because it was the first floating market of its kind to become widely popular in the domestic market, persuading the Thai tourists to be interested in traveling in the type of floating markets. It is a tourist destination with a long history and is the tourist place being acceptable among a wide variety of Thai tourists.
Summary
(1) Group of tourists: The tourists are more female than male, and have an average age of 25-34 years. Most of them live in Bangkok and are the employees of private companies. Their educational level is bachelor‟s degree, and their income is between 10,000 – 20,000 Baht. When classifying following the variables of the sample groups, the results can be summarized and the results of study can be discussed as follows:
(2) Genders: According to the results on the survey of general data of the sample group classified in genders, it is found that the female tourists are more likely to participate in give the data in conducting the questionnaires more than the male tourists. Such study results cannot be summarized to say that the female tourists have more nostalgia feeling than the male tourists. From the literature review of the previous studies (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1992), it is not found that the gender factor influences the nostalgia feeling and behaviors differently between men and women.
All genders can have the reaction to the nostalgia phenomena similarly. According to this study, the conclusion is found to agree with the conclusion of the previous studies that is the group of tourists both male and female have the nostalgia feeling and behaviors similarly. Most of them travel to the floating markets because they want to find relaxation and to escape from the chaos in daily urban life, as well as wanting impressions of the past recalling history. However, when considering the whole on the relationship of genders and the “nostalgia tourism” found in traveling, it is found that the main impression of tourists on the “nostalgia tourism” is on the food and tourist activities. Both female and male tourists are fond of eating traditional foods and snacks. When considering the two next orders, it is found that the second
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and third most favorite activities of male and female tourists are different. The female tourists are fond of buying the products of past recalling while the male tourists are fond of visiting the antique houses, museums, and lifestyle recalling.
(3) Traveling factors: According to the study in the entire picture, the traveling factors can be classified as the important reasons influencing the decision-making in traveling to the floating markets of the tourists as follows:
Sensory and emotional factors are foremost in stimulating the nostalgia for the tourists. This study agrees with the concepts of the past phenomena that the nostalgia can occur when there is the stimulus to arouse the nostalgic feeling. The floating markets are located in the central region area, and are both naturally and artificially made. There are tangible and intangible resources which can arouse the tourists to recall the past or to have the nostalgic feeling.