A SURVEY ON THE BASIC INFORMATION AND THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 TOWARDS THE TOURISM SECTOR IN SAMUT SONGKHRAM PROVINCE, THAILAND

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the basic information and factors of the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector in Samut Songkhram Province in order to establish preliminary data for the new normal lifestyle technology development. The quantitative research part was conducted with 210 tourism start-ups and social enterprises in Samut Songkhram Province, using interview forms and questionnaires as research instruments. The data were then processed with Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to obtain the important variables of COVID-19 impact factors affecting the tourism sector in Samut Songkhram province.The results revealed that COVID-19 impacted tourist attractions at the highest level ( = 4.40 S.D. = 0.50). The major COVID-19 impact factors were also found to have the highest factor loading at 0.736 on tourist attractions. As such,it is necessary for businesses to have a prepared plan to manage the impacts of COVID-19, and there must beguidelines and checklists for infection prevention in accordance with the government standards. This can be done byusing technology to reduce direct in-person contact while dealing with business partners for hotels, transportation, and tourist attractionsto reduce infection risk according to the standards set by the government.