Abstract

Cultural tourism is a niche market to which little attention has been paid, especially compared to mass tourism. To broaden and increase the potential market, this study applies inclusive design principles, as understanding and designing for diversity, to identify barriers and drivers in cultural tourism for five groups, including youth, people uninterested in cultural tourism (noncultural tourists), older adults, people with disabilities, and cultural tourists. The objective of this study is therefore to identify the barriers and drivers in cultural tourism among five groups of potential customers, as defined above and to compare the differences between close-ended and open-ended answers seeking out the neglected barriers and drivers within the context of Thailand’s cultural tourism. To achieve this objective, 500 questionnaires were distributed to five groups in various locations. The most common barrier cited by the five groups is “transportation.” In addition, except for disabled people, barriers about “time” can cover four groups. However, drivers seem to differ more between groups. Only three items—“visiting a place that I have not visited before,” “just relaxing,” and “new experiences and different lifestyles”—are in the top five for all groups.