The purposes of this research were to: 1) study the people and opinions of the attendees of the annual fair at the sacred Buddha’s footprint in Khao Kitchakut District, Chanthaburi Province, 2) study the situational factors affecting the stakeholders at the religious tourism site, and 3) present a model for sustainable development of the traditional annual fair. The research methodology used was transdisciplinary qualitative research based on: documentary research, oral history interviews and in-depth interviews with stakeholders.
The results showed that: 1) the people and opinions of the attendees showed that they had faith-based reasons for attending, overall agreement that the annual fair should continue and overall satisfaction with the services provided at the site. Attendees came from provinces throughout Thailand, as well as neighboring countries. As for frequency, those who attended stated that they have attended the fair many times before. Furthermore, most attendees traveled together in family groups; 2) the situational factors affecting the stakeholders at the religious tourism site included: external economic factors, new competing interests in religious tourism, and the Covid-19 pandemic which caused the stakeholders to suffer economically while the annual fair was cancelled; and 3) the model-driven sustainable development plan included: new public governance, established methods for problem solving, and coordination with other tourist sites and events in Chanthaburi Province.
