Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research

ISSN: 1094-1665 (Print) 1741-6507 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rapt20

The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative

Tourism: A Study in Nakhon Pathom Province,
Thailand

Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil & Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn

To cite this article: Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil & Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn (2015): The
Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism: A Study in Nakhon Pathom Province,
Thailand, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, DOI: 10.1080/10941665.2014.998250

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2014.998250

Published online: 10 Feb 2015.

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 Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2014.998250

The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative

Tourism: A Study in Nakhon Pathom Province,
Thailand
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 08:26 05 October 2015

Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil1∗ and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn2

1
Tourism and Hospitality Management Division, Mahidol University International College,
999 Bhuthamonthon Sai 4, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand
2
Business Administration Division, Mahidol University International College, 999
Bhuthamonthon Sai 4, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand

This article examines the potential of floating markets in the Nakhon Pathom province
as a creative tourism destination by performing a two-stage qualitative study. It
explores in particular the perceptions of community leaders toward the possibility for
established floating markets to become creative tourism destinations and the current
and future constraints in such development. In the first stage, an environmental scan-
ning is performed using readiness indices for tourism destination, which are adopted
from two sources. In the second stage, the perceptions of community leaders toward
floating markets are examined through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. These
investigations reveal the significant role of community leaders and their perspectives
toward the direction and development of their communities. The investigations also
identify the factors that promote and obstruct creative tourism in a particular floating
market destination.

Key words: creative tourism, community tourism, floating market, community leadership

Introduction burger, 2010). Creative tourism requires a fun-

Creative tourism, which was introduced by
Richards and Raymond in the ATLAS news-
letter in 2000, was developed from cultural
tourism to provide a more in-depth travel
experience for tourists (Richards, 2011; Wurz-
damental shift in the creation of value from
production to consumption (Richards &
Marques, 2012) and focuses on the active par-
ticipation, involvement, learning, and absorp-
tion of tourists. This type of tourism is
therefore expected to provide tourists with a

∗
Email: walanchale.wat@mahidol.ac.th

# 2015 Asia Pacific Tourism Association

 2 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
memorable experience and a sense of authen-
ticity in the cultural activities in which they
are involved (Ohridska-Olson & Ivanov,
2010; Richards, 2001, 2011).
The past decade has witnessed the rise of
creative tourism around the world, including
in Thailand. Given the importance of a crea-
tive economy, the former Thai government
has incorporated the tourism agenda in the
11th National Plan and named the tourism
industry as one of the 15 key industries for
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creative development (see Wattanacharoensil
& Schuckert, 2014). Given the rich heritage
and local culture of the country, Thai culture
has become an essential component of both
cultural and creative tourism, and related gov-
ernment agencies have responded. For
example, the Tourism Authority of Thailand
(TAT) has promoted Thai culture by holding
online campaigns that present the country as
a creative tourism destination, where tourists
can learn and participate in various cultural
activities, such as Thai boxing (Muay Thai),
cuisine, and rice farming (2012). The Ministry
of Commerce has proposed prototypes of the
creative city, in which the unique cultural
element of 10 selected provinces is the focus
of creative development (Thai Government
Public Relation Department, 2011). The
Designated Area of Sustainable Tourism
Administration, a public organization under
the Office of the Prime Minister of Thailand,
has coordinated with many tourism commu-
nities in rural and provincial areas to
promote local cultural resources as fundamen-
tal assets of creative tourism that can benefit
the socio-economic and cultural environments
of communities (2011). These organizations
and movements have emerged in response to
the creative economy policy of the tourism
industry that aims to drive the social and econ-
omic development of Thailand.
This notion is reinforced by the Creative
Academy for Cultural and Heritage Tourism
(CCHT) of the Mahidol University, which
was established in response to the national
plan for creative economy, which is executed
by the Ministry of Commerce. This plan
endeavors to promote the creative tourism
industry. The present study focuses on the
project of CCHT and investigates the potential
of local floating markets in promoting creative
tourism in Nakhon Pathom (NP). The fertile
landscape of and the Tha-cheen River
(Nakhon Chaisri River) that flows through
the city (Figure 1) have led to the establish-
ment of two floating markets in NP, which
are ranked among the top 10 popular places
in the province.
The floating markets in NP signify the
enduring river culture of the Thais, which
dates back to the Ayutthaya era. These floating
markets often serve as a second source of the
second income for a community. The estab-
lishment of floating markets can also be
linked to the concept of community-based
tourism (CBT), which emphasizes the involve-
ment of the host community in planning and
maintaining its own tourism development for
sustainable purposes (Blackstock, 2005),
thereby increasing the socio-economic benefits
that accrue to the community. Floating
markets in communities highlight to a certain
extent the cultural and social construct of
rural tourism, which implies what Kneafsey
(2001) refers to as traditional cultures,
national identities, and authentic lifestyles.
The present study combines the concept of
creative tourism and CBT by examining the
potential of floating markets in NP as creative
tourism destinations. It explores in particular
the perceptions of community leaders toward
the possibility of developing these floating
markets into creative destinations and exam-
ines the current and future constraints on such
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism
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Figure 1 Map of NP and the Location of the Five Floating Markets in the Study.
development. In the first stage of this study, an
environmental scanning is performed using
the readiness indices for tourism destination,
which have been adopted from two sources, to
evaluate the readiness of the physical environ-
ment of the selected floating markets. In the
second stage, the perspectives of community
leaders toward floating markets are examined
through in-depth interviews.
The paper is organized as follows. First, the
NP province and the selected floating markets
are briefly introduced. Second, the related lit-
erature on creative tourism, CBT, community
leadership, and their importance in the devel-
opment of tourism destinations is reviewed.
Third, the research methodology is described,
and the findings are discussed. Lastly, the con-
clusions are given, and the limitations of this
study are highlighted.
3
Introduction to the Floating Markets in
Thailand and NP Province
Miranti (2002) reported that the importance of
floating markets in Thai culture dates back to
the Ayutthaya Period (AD 1350 – 1767). The
emergence of such markets has been attributed
to adjoining canals that facilitated transactions
between traders. Several rivers and canals serve
as the main transportation routes for these
markets, create ways of life on the riverside,
and allow the emergence of many communities
in Thai society. The nature of floating markets
is assessed based on the activities of shrewd
vendors who sell their produce (e.g. fresh
fruits, vegetables, condiments, handicrafts,
paintings, souvenirs, and other merchandise)
and peddle their goods on their flat boats to
households along the river (Famouswonders,
 4 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
2011). Floating markets were a token of com-
munities in the central plains of Thailand
until the early Rattanakosin Period (AD
1782 –1868). The construction of additional
roads and rail networks gradually drove more
people to prefer street to water transportation,
which in turn forced some floating markets to
move to land, change their operations, and
close down their businesses (Miranti, 2002).
Floating markets have been perceived for
many centuries as modal meeting points that
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emphasize the economic exchanges of agricul-
tural and cultural products.
However, the existence of floating markets
in NP province no longer demonstrates the
lifestyle of people who live by the river.
Some traces of these markets can still be
observed, given that some vendors continue
to sell their produce on boats and some com-
munities in the province still reside along the
Tha-cheen River. The majority of the market-
ing transactions in NP are performed either on
floating rafts or on the river shore. The
vendors in this area do not use the flat or pad-
dling boats that are ubiquitous in other float-
ing markets in Thailand, such as in
Amphawa and Damnoen Saduak. However,
NP opts to use the word “floating” to refer
to the markets situated along the Tha-cheen
River to reinforce the association of these
markets with the river/water scenery. The
floating markets in NP province are therefore
different from traditional floating markets
because the transactions in this area are
mostly conducted on floating rafts and on the
shores of the Tha-cheen River.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sport in
Nakhon Pathom (2012) identified five floating
markets in NP: Don Wai, Lampaya (LPY),
Klang Koo Wiang (KKW), Wat Bang Phra
(WBP), and Klong Chinda (KCD). Figure 1
illustrates the map of NP and the locations of
the five floating markets; Table 1 provides a
brief background of NP and the floating
markets covered in this study.
Literature Review
Creative Tourism
Creative tourism is defined as “tourism
directed toward an engaged an authentic
experience, with participative learning in the
arts, heritage or special character of a place”
(Wurzburger, 2010, p. 17). It is a by-product
or an extended form of cultural tourism that
can bring cultural tourism into a higher level
(Richards, 2011; Richards & Marques,
2012). Richards and Wilson (2006) argue
that cultural tourism entails the development
and exploitation of tangible cultural capital,
which induces more negative than positive
effects. Therefore, cultural tourism has
devolved into a concept of mass tourism that
hinders tourists from developing a deep
emotional connection or experience with
their destinations. These reasons have led to
the emergence of creative tourism.
Creative tourism allows tourists to detach
themselves from their daily routine and to
embed themselves into an experience that is
completely different from their own culture
and normal life (Ohridska-Olson & Ivanov,
2010). Melchers and Moser (2011) claim that
tourists are not content to live only one single
life-picture, but instead yearn to observe other
corners before reverting back into their own
normal lives. This idea is particularly appli-
cable to the tourism experience of these individ-
uals, in which the consumption of memorable
intangible elements has a pivotal role in their
consumption. This proposition finds support
in many concepts, such as clutch versus de-
clutch (Melchers & Moser, 2011), ordinary
versus non-ordinary (Jafari, 1987), and reality
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Table 1 Brief Description of the NP Province and the Selected Floating Markets

Name of
place Details Location

The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism

NP NP is one of the famous provinces of Thailand, particularly among the local Located 56 km west of Bangkok
Thais, because of its Buddhist culture. The city is also famous for its ancient
religious structures and heritage. In terms of economic contribution, the gross
provincial product of NP at current market prices was ranked in 2010 as the
13th highest in the whole country, with an amount of 148.6 billion baht
(Department of Tourism, 2012). The number of annual visitors reached 2.65
million people in 2013, of which local Thai visitors comprised approximately
96% or 2.56 million (National Statistics Office, 2014). Visitors mainly come to
NP to explore its famous religious architectures, discover its culture, enjoy its
cuisine and scenic riverside, visit its museums, and experience its agro-tourism
(Lonely Planet, 2014; Wikitravel, 2014)

(Continued)

5
 6
Table 1 Continued

Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn

Name of
place Details Location
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Don Wai The Don Wai floating market (sometimes called Don Wai riverside market or Don Wai market is located inside
Don Wai market) is located at the banks of the Tha-cheen river. This market the Don Wai temple on the
preserves the traditional lifestyle that harks back from the reign of King Rama banks of the Tha-cheen River,
VI, particularly in Chinese communities. Although the market has existed for Bangkratuk sub-district,
nearly 100 years, the community remained obscure until a columnist from the Sampran district, NP
local Thai newspaper visited the market in 1998 and promoted some key dishes
in his column, “Tew Pai Kin Pai – Travel and Eat”. The market opens every
day and caters to approximately 1500– 2000 people from Mondays to
Thursdays and approximately 15,000 – 20,000 people on weekends and
national holidays. Don Wai is the central market for many agricultural
products, particularly organic vegetables, Thai desserts, and Chinese cuisine.
The vendors in this market are mainly residents of the community. The
residents of Don Wai also allow other vendors to rent areas in front of their
houses for the commercial purpose (Ditthakasorn, 2010; Office of Tourism &
Sport, 2010a)
LPY LPY was formally opened in 1999, during which its operations were held only on LPY is located inside the Wat
Sundays. Not so long after that, the market extended its operations to Lampaya (Wat means temple)
weekends and public holidays from 0700 to 1600. LPY is located along the in Bang Len county, NP
Tha – cheen River and inside the Lampaya temple. The market activities reflect
the life of the residents of the Tha –cheen riverside. The locals can gain
economic benefits by selling their local products and promote cultural
awareness by demonstrating their lifestyles to visitors/tourists. The popularity
of LPY stems from its wide selection of delectable and reasonably priced food
items. LPY is also famous for its beautiful scenic view of the Tha – cheen River
(Office of Tourism & Sport, 2010b; Songklin, 2005)
 KKW KKW is a small floating market and has one of the most virgin and untouched KKW floating market is located at
natural resources in NP. The market is located inside the KKW temple along the Sampatuan sub-district,
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the Tha-cheen River. The market conducts its operations only on weekends Nakorn Chaisri district, NP
and national holidays from 0800 to 1600. The KKW temple is known for its
herbal remedies and gold-plated Luuk-Nimit.a The biggest Luuk-Nimit in the
world can also be found inside the KKW temple. The original purpose of the
KKW floating market was to serve visiting patients seeking natural remedies
from the famous abbot. The head abbot wanted the market to become a place
where the patients can feel relaxed and from which the community can benefit.
The establishment of the market was funded by the temple. The authorities

The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism

wanted the community to participate in the market by selling food and local
products. The majority of the products sold in this market include agricultural
produce, food, and handicrafts (Boonkum, 2007; Inkochasan, 2011)
WBP The WBP market is famous for its location, which is not significantly far from the WBP market is located at Bang
temple of the highly famous abbot called “Luang Por Puen.” The temple is very Kaew Fah, Nakorn Chaisri
famous for a daily tattoo (or Sak Yants) by monks. WBP is the only Buddhist district, NP
temple in NP that was built during the Ayutthaya period and is located adjacent
to the market. People usually visit the market for its leisure activities, such as fish
feeding and buying products, after visiting the famous temple of the abbot. Many
local vendors sell food and agricultural produce along the shore or on the river
bank near the temple (Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Nakhon Pathom, 2010)
KCD Among the five selected markets, KCD is the only marketplace that is not located KCD market is located at the Sam
along the Tha-cheen River. This market mainly provides agro-tourism Pran District, NP
activities, in which the locals sell agricultural produce obtained from their own
farms. The key tourist activities in this area include sightseeing along the canal
and tours around the fruit and vegetable farms in the area (OKNation, 2011)

Note: The names of the places are translated from Thai to English by following the TAT.
a
Luuk-Nimit – round stones buried in the ground of a temple to mark a sacred area.

7
 8 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
versus hyper-reality (Eco, 1986). Nevertheless,
such concept challenges destination planners to
think of activities that can satisfy their
demands. Creative tourism is considered an
alternative approach that increases the oppor-
tunity for people to generate an “authentic
experience” with service providers and form a
deep connection with the destination, thereby
providing them with an impression of being in
another world (Richards, 2007).
The paradigm of creative tourism was devel-
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oped by applying creative ideas into tourist des-
tinations and by exploiting the unique cultural
capital possessed by each destination. This orig-
inal view was revised in 2012, when Richards
and Marques (2012) expanded the concept of
creative tourism. By identifying its roles and
forms, Richards and Marques discovered that
creative tourism occurs when visitors, service
providers, and local communities exchange
ideas and skills and influence one another in a
synergistic manner through various means and
forms. Conceived as such, creative tourism
now captures levels of consumption from
“low” to “high” and from “passive” to
“active”. Most of the previous studies on crea-
tive tourism were conducted by Richards
et al., who continuously project and solidify
the basic ideas of such concept (see Richards,
2011; Richards & Marques, 2012; Richards
& Raymond, 2000; Richards & Wilson, 2006).
Although not explicitly stated, the success of
creative tourism greatly depends on the
process and context of tourist activities rather
than on the final tourism products (Richards
& Marques, 2012; Tan, Kung, & Luh, 2013;
Tan, Luh, & Kung, 2014). Many educators
who study creative tourism have identified
tourist involvement and participation as the
key element of creative tourism (Gordin &
Matetskaya, 2012; Lindroth, Ritalahti, &
Soisalon-Soininen, 2007; Richards & effects by promoting the involvement of com-
Marques, 2012; Tan, Kung, & Luh, 2013;
Tan, Luh, & Kung, 2014), which emerges in
the encounter between tourists and locals
(Richards & Marques, 2012) and generates
value through such connections. Therefore,
the key success factors of creative tourism sig-
nificantly rely on how tourism service providers
create activities that allow tourists to learn more
about the unique quality of the culture of the
places, thereby enhancing the meanings of
these intermingled spaces (Tan, Kung, & Luh,
2013). These activities must be able to re-huma-
nize the relationship between tourists and locals
and provide tourists a sense of “becoming” or a
desire to transform themselves through learning
and actions (Deleuze & Guattari, 1980 as cited
by Richards & Marques, 2012). Some studies
have also addressed the barriers to creative
tourism. For example, Lindroth et al. (2007)
claim that the service provider cannot match
the perceptions of local stakeholders with the
needs of tourists, while Gordin and Matetskaya
(2012) attributed such mismatch to the inability
of service providers to cater to the expectations
of their tourists.
Community Tourism, Community Leader-
ship, and Development in Community
Tourism Destination
The concept of community tourism has been
discussed in the field of tourism for the past 20
years (Rocharungsat, 2005). Such concept is
sometimes referred to as CBT (Pearce & Mos-
cardo, 1999, as cited in Rocharungsat, 2008),
which indicates the involvement of commu-
nities in tourism activities to generate economic
benefit. CBT has been advocated as an integral
part of sustainable tourism development
because it enhances and sustains the positive
effects of tourism, while reducing its negative
munities (Jamal & Getz, 1995; Okazaki, 2008).
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 9

Several studies have also investigated the
factors that affect the success of CBT (see
Gunn, 1988, as cited in Jamal & Getz, 1995;
Rocharungsat, 2008; Thaprasoet, 2009).
These factors mainly focus on (1) the partici-
pation of the community in tourism planning
and (2) the importance of local leadership in
managing the community. The first factor
aims to achieve tourism sustainability within
the community (Blackstock, 2005; Okazaki,
2008; Tosun, 2000) by emphasizing the impor-
tance of local participation in decision-making
and control (Pearce, 1992). The second factor
emphasizes the efforts of local leaders in foster-

Table 2 Key Success Factors for Community Tourism Development

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Literature Key success factors

Gunn (1988) † Attractions: Natural and manmade features within and adjacent to a
community
† Promotion: Marketing a community and its tourism attractions to
potential tourists
† Tourism infrastructure: Transport facilities (e.g. roads, airports, trains,
and buses), water and power services, parking spaces, signs, and
recreation facilities
† Services: Lodging, restaurants, and various retail businesses that satisfy
the needs of tourists
† Hospitality: How tourists are treated by both community residents and
employees in tourism businesses and attractions
Wilson et al. (2001) † Complete tourism package
† Favorable community leadership
† Support and participation of the local government
† Sufficient funds for tourism development
† Strategic planning
† Coordination and cooperation between businesspersons and local leaders
† Coordination and cooperation among rural tourism entrepreneurs
† Information and technical assistance for tourism development and
promotion
† Conventions and bureaus for visitors
† Widespread community support for tourism
Rocharungsat † CBT must involve the entire community
(2008) † The benefits from CBT must be equally distributed throughout the
destination community
† A careful management of tourism is significant
† CBT must have strong support from within and outside the community
† The uniqueness of the place must be considered to sustain the destination
† Environmental conservation must not be neglected
 10 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
ing a difference and developing their commu-
nities through efficient leadership practices
(i.e. effective responses to existing problems
in the community) (O’Brien & Hassinger,
1992). White and Clifton (1988) mentioned
that the development and growth of a commu-
nity are directly linked to foresighted local citi-
zen(s) who pursue growth and to the catalysts
of community growth. A community leader
strongly affects the socio-economic aspect of
his/her community. Both the social and econ-
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omic views improve the tourism community
under the guidance of community leaders.
The social views highlight the importance of
the leader in developing the strength of the
local culture of the community and in strength-
ening the bond among the members of the
community. In other words, the leader aims
to strengthen the cultural and social capital in
his/her community. The economic views
argue that the leader can determine how to
use the available resources to satisfy demands
(White & Clifton, 1988). The economic
views on the community approach to tourism
development underscore tourism as a commu-
nity product that increases the economic
income of a community (White & Clifton,
1988) with the encouragement and supervision
of community leaders.
For CBT to be successful, Gunn (1988 as
cited in Jamal & Getz, 1995) suggested five
key components that should be used in pro-
moting a given destination (Table 2). Rochar-
ungsat (2008) developed criteria for
evaluating the success of community tourism
development and identified the intangible/soft-
ware aspects of management, partnership, and
income equal distribution as the key factors to
such success. Some studies emphasize the
importance of local involvement and support
(see Rocharungsat, 2008; Thaprasoet, 2009)
and argue that a clear and strong direction
from community leader(s) is necessary in the
initial start-up of many communities
(Wilson, Fesenmaier, Fesenmaier, Van Es,
2001).
Research Methodology
The potential of floating markets in NP to
become tourist destinations was determined
in two stages. First, the research team con-
ducted an on-site investigation of the five float-
ing markets in NP. These investigations were
conducted using two destination potential
indices, which were developed by the Depart-
ment of Tourism (formerly called the Office
of Tourism Development), together with the
Faculty of Architecture of Chulalongkorn
University, Thailand, and the Institute of Sus-
tainable Tourism in Srinakharinwirot Uni-
versity, Thailand, with Oxford Brook
University, England. After combining these
two indices, their criteria for promoting float-
ing markets as tourism destinations were
investigated further. Other aspects related to
creative tourism were also derived from the
extant literature for further investigation.
The on-site investigation covered three
aspects: (1) the physical potential and capacity
management of the floating markets, (2) their
attractiveness and key indicators for creative
tourism, and (3) the supporting aspects for
creative tourism and sustainable development.
The investigation was conducted from June
2012 to August 2012, and the destinations
were revisited in December 2012. The five
floating markets were visited by two research-
ers on weekends to observe their capacity in
accommodating a high number of visitors/
tourists. The researchers conducted their
observations from the opening to the closing
time of these markets. Given the potential
errors in their observations, the researchers
used inter-observer reliability (Caro, Roper,
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 11
Young, & Dank, 1979) to ensure the consist-
ency and reliability of their measurements.
The researchers were given their own index
and had their own audit trail, with which to
indicate the sequential order of their obser-
vations and assessments and note their
opinions on each item. The physical com-
ponents of the site, such as signage (1.1, 1.9),
car parking space (1.4), or information
center (1.5), were photographed during the
observation period according to their respect-
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ive indices. The measurement unit was in a cat-
egorical base and comprised three aspects and
23 indicators. The researchers gave scores
ranging from 1 to 3 according to their personal
judgment. At the end of the visiting date, both
researchers compared their scores and the
details they collected for each aspect. Items
with different scores were further discussed
and supported with documents, such as audit
trails and photographs, before the researchers
arrived at a conclusion. The same approach
was used for all the five markets, and the per-
centage agreements between the researchers
for each market were recorded as follows:
LPY (83%), WBP (78%), KKW (91%),
WDW (83%), and KJD (96%). All the criteria
were re-observed in December 2012 to assess
whether or not the final scales from the first
round were still valid. The criteria for the
evaluation are presented in Table 4.
Three out of the five floating markets passed
the first preliminary scanning and had the
potential for creative tourism destination
development. The second phase of the study
was therefore initiated to further explore the
development and potential of these three float-
ing markets as creative tourism destinations by
preliminarily focusing on the community
leaders of these markets.
In the second phase, in-depth, semi-struc-
tured interviews were conducted to identify
the perceptions of the community leaders on
the potential of these floating markets for crea-
tive tourism development. A qualitative meth-
odology was employed because the researchers
wanted to explore the meaning that individ-
uals or groups ascribed to a social phenom-
enon (Creswell, 2008). The following
questions, which targeted the strengths, chal-
lenges, collaborations, and potential for crea-
tive tourism, were asked during the
interviews (more questions are presented in
Appendix):
. How was the [name] floating market estab-
lished?
. What are the strengths and constraints of
this market in attracting visitors and tour-
ists?
. To what extent do the local residents involve
themselves in this market?
. Does your community have a unique and
attractive culture that can induce tourism
activities, attract tourists to participate,
and enhance their understanding of the
local community?
How applicable is the creative tourism
concept in your market?
. What are the requirements of the practice of
creative tourism in your market?
The interview data furthered the under-
standing of the characteristics, potentials,
and constraints of the floating markets when
they are developed as creative tourism desti-
nations. The purposeful sampling technique
was used, and highly influential leaders from
the three markets were contacted for inter-
views. These community leaders are among
the first few people to initiate the operations
of these floating markets, and their influence
is still widely felt. These community leaders
have a crucial role in establishing and develop-
ing their respective markets. They have
 12 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn

adopted various strategies to increase the
popularity of their markets and encourage
their local communities to participate in
market activities. These leaders have also col-
laborated with tourism authorities and muni-
cipalities in improving the attractiveness and
growth of their markets. Given the contri-
butions of these leaders, their insights can sig-
nificantly enrich the current knowledge on the
floating markets in NP.
All the eight participants were interviewed
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researchers has seven-year experience as a pro-
fessional English –Thai translator; hence, she
directly translated the interview data, and the
translated documents were cross-checked by
the research team. Despite the small sample
size, the interview data were highly credible
because the interviewees all had significant
roles and an in-depth understanding of their
respective markets and communities. The
number of interviewees was also considered
adequate and close to the sample size that is

by a researcher and a research assistant; the
former asked the questions, and the latter
noted the important aspects of the interviews
for further reference. This method was used
with all interview participants to ensure the
interview consistency. Prior to the interview,
a set of interview questions were sent to the
academic in the same field for feedback. The
interviews were recorded on tape. Each inter-
view lasted from 1.30 to 3 h. The interview
sessions were conducted in Thai and trans-
lated into English by a researcher. One of the
required for case studies (see Mason, 2010).
The interview data were categorized into
four themes: “strengths, challenges, collabor-
ations, and potential for creative tourism”.
The interview contents of each market were
coded and analyzed theme-by-theme. The
research used the conventional content analysis
in which coding categories are extracted
directly from the interview or text data (Hsieh
& Shannon, 2005). Contents relating to these
four themes were extracted in the forms of
phases and sentences. The main analysis was

Table 3 Profiles of the Interviewed Community Leaders of the Three Floating Markets

Floating
market Position

LPY The sub-district headman (Kamnan) who was also one of the temple committee
members who established LPY
The former abbot or the key leader and founder who established the LPY floating
market in the community
The current interim abbot
KKW A former temple committee member who co-founded the floating market
The head of the sub-district administration organization
Don Wai A former sub-district headman (Kamnan) who led and co-founded the Don Wai
floating market
Two temple committee members who served in the team that established the
floating market. They are currently in charge of the floating market around the
temple area
 Table 4 Results of the On-site Inspection

Wat Don Klong

Indicator LPY WBP KKW Wai Jinda
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Aspect 1: Physical environment and capacity management

1.1 Signage to reach the destination (evaluated based on the number of signs that B BBB B BB BBB
can be seen before reaching the destination)
1.2 Condition of the road to the destination (visual and sensual evaluation of road BB BBB BBB BBB BBB
smoothness)
1.3 Public transportation (availability of all transport types) B x B BB x

The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 13

1.4 Parking space BBB BB BB BB B
1.5 Tourist information center BBB x x BB B
1.6 Toilets BBB BBB BB B B
1.7 Souvenir shops BBB B B BBB x
1.8 Interpretation BB B B B x
1.9 Sufficient amount of directions and signs pointing to the destination BB x BB BB x
1.10 A holistic map of the destination for tourists x B x B x
1.11 Resting areas BBB BB BB B B
1.12 Cleanliness BBB BB BBB B BBB
1.13 Other facilities, such as ATM machines and telephone booths BB x BBB BBB x
Aspect 2: Attractiveness of the floating market and key indicators of creative tourism
2.1 Popularity of the floating market among tourists BBB B BB BBB B
2.2 Historical attractiveness BBB BBB BB B B
2.3 Cultural attractiveness BBB BB BBB BB BBB
2.4 Uniqueness BBB B BBB BB B
2.5 Variety of activities BB BB BB BB B
2.6 Connection with other destinations B B B B x
Aspect 3: Supporting aspects for creative tourism and sustainable development

(Continued)
 14 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn

carried out by one researcher and the results

Note: Each criterion is scored from 1 to 3, where 1 indicates the lowest availability and 3 indicates the highest availability, represented by a square. x represents non-
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and (2) the Institute of Sustainable Tourism, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand, together with Oxford Brook University,
Source: Adapted from the two indices: (1) Department of Tourism (formerly called the Office of Tourism Development) together with the Faculty of Architecture of
Klong
Jinda
were cross-checked by the other researcher to

BBB
ensure the reliability of the analysis.

25
B
B

x
Table 3 presents additional details on each
market and cites the positions of the inter-
Wat Don

viewed leaders.
Wai

Furthermore, previous studies and reports

BB
BB

39
B
x on the selected markets were also gathered to
increase the richness of the collected infor-
WBP KKW

BB
mation for comprehensive analysis. These
37
B
B
x

studies and reports also served as tools for

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data triangulation, given that they provided

30

historical information on the places, explained

B
B
x
x

the existence of such places, and included

BBB
BBB
BBB
LPY

BB

some materials related to the scope of the

54

study, such as a list of key persons and the

management structure of each community.
3.4 The activities in the destination are related to the local culture and involve
Continued

Research Findings
3.1 The majority of the vendors consist of locals from the community

Potential of the Destinations as Evaluated

3.3 Availability of a handicraft training center in the community

Via Environmental Screening

Table 4

3.2 The income of the community highly depends on tourism

In terms of their physical environment,

capacity management, attractiveness as a des-
tination, and potential for creative tourism
and sustainable development, the three float-
ing markets are confirmed to have the poten-
tial to be developed into creative tourism
destinations. Post-briefing and discussion
were held upon completion of the investi-
gation of the target sites. Table 4 shows the
results of the on-site inspection.
The three floating markets of LPY, KKW,
and Don Wai passed the criteria in the first
tourist participation

screening and were included in the second

stage of the study. The screening results were
generated based on two decisions. Each cri-
Final Score∗

terion had a maximum score of three (indi-

availability.
Indicator

cated by a square). All 23 criteria in the three

England.

aspects therefore had a total maximum score

of 69 points. All criteria were given similar
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 15
weights because they were all regarded as
important to both the community and creative
tourism development aspects. The following
criteria were set for the selection of floating
markets that were investigated further:
(1) The destination must obtain at least half of
the total score. A destination with less
than 35 points is therefore excluded from
the investigation.
(2) The destination must have at least two
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points in the following criteria: (2.3) cul-
tural attractiveness, (2.4) uniqueness, and
(2.5) variety of activities.
The second criterion was based on the idea
that creative tourism should be developed
from cultural tourism. Therefore, a creative
tourism destination should offer unique cul-
tures and encourage tourists to involve them-
selves in the available activities, which
reflected the third aspect.
The Nature, Management, and Community
Involvement in Floating Markets
The start-up periods of the three floating
markets were similar in the sense that they
were initiated by the community leaders with
the approval of the temple abbot and commit-
tees. LPY and Don Wai were established
mainly for the social and economic benefits of
their communities, whereas KKW was estab-
lished to serve patients seeking herbal treatment
at the temple. The characteristics of each market
are discussed in the following sub-sections.
LPY floating market. LPY has brought pride
to its host community by being the first tourism
destination in the Bang Len sub-district. LPY
follows explicit management rules, such as the
implementation of a zoning system, regulation
and inspection of safety and hygiene, and the
management of the environment to maintain
the beautiful scenery. The growth and image
of LPY reflect the involvement of the local com-
munity to a level at which they can express their
concerns and problems in the market.
However, the key management role and respon-
sibility to develop such market still fall on the
temple abbot and community leader because
the community locals remain passive in terms
of their actions and involvement. As the sub-dis-
trict headman (Kamnan) says,
We try to encourage people in our community to be
involved and active in the market. They are simply
happy with what they earn so their actions are
passive . . . most vendors are farmers and have
limited spare time . . . we even tried to encourage
them to sell their products on weekdays rather
than only the weekend, but they refused.
The sub-district headman and the former
abbot addressed the key problem of the
market, which leads to inefficient manage-
ment. The frequent change of temple abbots
in LPY affects the financial contribution,
decision-making, and direction for the devel-
opment of LPY. Frequent conflicts and
limited cooperation among the locals are
observed when the appointed abbots are not
from the local community.
In addition, the former abbot of LPY expressed
his concern over the current characteristics of the
market. Although the economic benefits gener-
ated from the market increase the overall
income of the community, a trade-off has been
observed in the social aspect in the sense that
the community locals are beginning to care less
about their market. From his perspective, the
community is slowly losing its charm.
Klang Koo Wiang. In the KKW market,
vendors sell their products on rafts afloat
 16 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
on the Tha-cheen River. The market was
popular among patients and visitors during
its start-up period. However, such popularity
slowly decreased because of the high price of
the products, which resulted from the mis-
management of rental fees. Many undesirable
aspects of the market were also attributed to
the decisions from the temple, thereby result-
ing in a business management dilemma. The
temple abbot was the key sponsor of the
market, and his decision on whether or not
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to treat local vendors as business partners
created a knock-on effect on the market
management. According to the sub-district
administration organization (SAO) leader,
The original idea [of the abbot] was mainly a good
intention to help the locals. He did not want to put
too much constraints and burdens on the cost of the
rental fee and electricity and water . . .
Barriers were created against vendor man-
agement after a one-time leasing fee was
required from the vendors, instead of a peri-
odic, voluntary payment of electricity and
water bills. The SAO leader further says:
The initial leasing fee was around THB 2000 to
THB 3000 (around USD 60 to USD 100), and it
was a one-time payment. What happened was
that the vendors leased the area to other vendors
from the outside area by increasing the lease up
to THB 5000 to THB 6000 (around USD 120 to
USD 200), causing the price of the products to
increase. Tourists complained about the high
price . . . hence, the market gradually slowed
down.
Given the increase in raft rental fees and
the decrease in the investment value of the
products, the vendors and locals stopped
selling their products in the market, and
only few vendors stayed voluntarily. The
SAO leader recalled an attempt to promote
the market by collaborating with the cultural
council of the sub-district to introduce cul-
tural shows and therefore boost the number
of tourists and vendors and by seeking
other sources of guided tourists, such as
those from religious tours (i.e. the Bangkok
Mass Transit Tour). However, such efforts
did not produce satisfactory results because
the response was only temporary. The com-
munity still did not spend much time and
resources on the market and continued to
believe that the generated income was not
worth their effort. Therefore, the partici-
pation and involvement of the community
in the activities and development of the float-
ing market remained limited.
Don Wai floating market. The visitors and
tourists of the Don Wai floating market out-
number those of LPY. The nature and image
of this market is different from that of LPY.
Although long established, the Don Wai
market was popularized through the pro-
motion of a newspaper columnist and the
community leader or former sub-district
headman (or Kamnan), who also served in
the temple committee.
The majority of the vendors in the Don Wai
market sell their products directly from their
houses and lease out the spaces in front of
their houses to other vendors for extra
income. The Don Wai floating market is per-
ceived to be the most crowded among the
three floating markets, and its capacity man-
agement is one of the key problems that need
to be addressed.
Although Don Wai was established as a
market for the local community, its unique
feature is its variety of available products
and commercial purpose. Given its market
layout and the key objective of its visitors,
the Don Wai market differs from LPY and
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 17
KKW in the sense that the former does not
attract visitors mainly because of its scenic
river. The tourists who visit Don Wai are
mainly after the variety of products offered
at reasonable prices, as evidenced by the
expansion of the market, which has in turn
led to space- and capacity-related problems.
Don Wai can still be considered a floating
market because it is located next to the Tha-
cheen River, along which visitors can take a
boat trip. An increase in the number of visitors
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in Don Wai indicates an increasing need for
the management and organization of the
market. The management team has begun to
adopt zoning techniques and divided the man-
agement responsibility into various aspects,
such as hygiene, safety and security, and clean-
liness. According to the former sub-district
headman,
We have committee members in charge of each
area, cleanliness, ambience, product quality
control, and customer service. We have a formally
annual meeting but we always have casual meetings
to tackle some minor problems . . . simply speaking,
we all work very closely.
The activities in the market are divided into
four zones: the temple, school, market, and
shine areas. Given that the market is adjacent
to the school, the school area is mainly used
as a parking facility, whereas the other zones
are for market activities. The development of
Don Wai is facilitated by the effective actions
of the committee and the implementation of
clear rules and regulations, which provide a
clear division of responsibilities among the
management teams. Nevertheless, both the
temple and the community leaders agree on
controlling and managing the market.
Table 5 lists the characteristics of the three
floating markets.
The Potential and Challenges for the
Creative Tourism and Community
Tourism Development of the Three Markets
The interview data from the key community
leaders of the three floating markets reveal
the aspects in which these leaders find the
potential and challenges in the development
of their markets into creative tourist desti-
nations; these aspects can be divided into
two categories. Drawing from the concept of
cultural tourism with a focus on tourist invol-
vement, participation, learning, and experi-
ence, the following points are addressed: (1)
the surrounding factor and the cultural
capital and activities provided by the market
and (2) the potential skills and support from
human capital, including the willingness,
involvement, and commitment of the commu-
nity.
The community leaders from the three
markets all agree that the landscape and
scenery on the Tha-cheen River bank benefit
their markets because it allows tourists to see
and understand the lifestyle of the people
residing along the river. However, aside from
buying food and other products, the key activi-
ties that tourists always participate in include
boat trips and sightseeing, which are perceived
by the community leaders’ view as merely a
passive absorption of the local lifestyle. The
leaders all agree that their current tourist
activities are mainly for leisure and pleasure,
which do not necessarily transform the experi-
ence of tourists. Therefore, despite the poten-
tial of their environmental settings, most of
the community leaders have weak interest in
introducing tourist activities for various
reasons.
Only the community leader of LPY stated
his intention to promote creative tourism by
developing local and cultural activities that
 18 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
Table 5 Nature, Characteristics, and Reasons for the Establishment of the Three Floating Markets
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LPY KKW Don Wai

Attractiveness of Natural scenery along the river Famous for its herbal medications Variety and popularity of local food
the destination and golden plating activity on the items
Luuk Nimit (the sacred ball that
is to be buried in the temple
compound)
Fresh farmland Natural and serene scenery along Local products
the river
Leisure river activities for tourists Car park infrastructure 2 km away Convenient distance and
(i.e. food, sightseeing on the from the town center infrastructure
boat, and relaxing on the
riverbank)
Boat trip services
Scenery
Year of 1999 2000 The market has long been
establishment established, and the year of
establishment is unknown.
However, the market was re-
promoted in 1998 and became
very popular since then
Interviewed key Temple abbot Temple abbot Former sub-district headman
community (Kamnan)
leaders Sub-district headman (Kamnan) Temple committee
Temple committee
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 19

would engage both locals and tourists.

business and become a source of

However, the local residents in the community
did not support this idea because of their
income for the community
To establish the community

Locals/visitors and tourists

limited time and the required extra labor. In
addition, no one was willing to take the initiat-
ive to pursue the plan. According to the sub-
district headman of LPY,

We have thought about creative tourism before . . .

but it is difficult to change mindset of the vendors
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from selling products into creating and leading

activities with tourists because they have limited of
time. In the old day, market started at 6 A. M., and
The market was later developed for
tourism and into another source
patients who seek for treatment

already there were tourists and visitors, but now

Originally established to serve

of income for locals and the

the behavior have changed and they came much

later, which shorten the time of selling, so they do
not want to spend extra time providing activities.
and herbal medicines

The sub-district headman also adds:

Group tourists

I have been thinking that . . . we should invite locals

to develop the activities . . . but in the end, I have to
temple
Patients
Visitors

do many things by myself if I want the project to

carry out . . . difficult to motivate people.
extra labor and training young
income by making the floating

As a result, the plan for creative tourism in

generations in the community
To use the place as a buffer for
market a place for the local

LPY did not proceed.

during off-farming seasons
To be the second source of

Locals/visitors and tourists

Given that a high number of visitors and

community to sell their

vendors in Don Wai, particularly the locals,

agricultural products

are already satisfied with their income and

sales, the community leader is not enthusiastic
about encouraging tourists to participate in
more activities. The Don Wai market already
promotes its cultural aspects, and the leader
is completely satisfied with the current charac-
teristics of the market.
The community leader of KKW also showed
little interest on the concept of creative
establishment

Target market

tourism, but agreed with the potential positive

Objective of

effect of the concept. Such low interest is

attributed to the failure to solve the fundamen-
tal problem of community involvement and
attracting enough vendors and tourists to the
 20 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
market. Therefore, from the perspective of the
community leader, the drive for creative
tourism development was weak. As the sub-
district headman puts it,
We received a lot of good feedback from the visitors
about our scenery, infrastructure like car park, and
spacious environment. But the problems we have is
not many vendors are selling stuff because it is not
worth their effort and investment. They did not
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get much profit from selling so they did not come,
or sometimes they only came half a day.
Human capital is another potential factor of
creative tourism. The community leaders of
LPY were confident of the skills of their local
people and the availability of training for the
community. Such availability means that the
locals’ skills in agriculture and farming can
be nurtured and, if practiced consistently,
will lead to new activities that can help tourists
to understand the local culture and lifestyle.
The support of the public sector, such as the
cultural council, for training can also nurture
the skills of the locals, which can be a favor-
able asset for creative tourism. Some commu-
nities, such as KKW, also have a unique form
of social and cultural capital derived from
the Lao community residing in the area.
However, the representation of these unique
cultures and tribes to tourists still ranges
from low to moderate. The main concern of
the community leaders of KKW is the willing-
ness of the locals to engage in tourism efforts,
which are not considered worth their opportu-
nity cost. These leaders are also not confident
of the ability of the locals to participate in
tourism activities despite their skills that can
benefit such activities. The SAO leader
further reports that they are currently receiv-
ing support from the sub-district cultural
council in their plans to stage cultural per-
formance shows and conduct handicraft train-
ing for the locals and tourists. Given that such
support depends on the amount of funds, these
activities are not permanent and consistent,
which in turn reduces the opportunity for
these leaders to create a creative tourism desti-
nation. Moreover, the support does not
involve the development of human capital in
the community. The Don Wai community
leaders revealed during the interviews that
their community represents the beauty of the
Chinese and Thai lifestyles. The community
takes pride in its preserved traditional
cuisine, and the Don Wai locals primarily use
their skills in producing local and authentic
products for visitors. However, given the satis-
factory level of income in Don Wai, the com-
munity leader was already satisfied with the
product-selling concept and with their tra-
ditional and unique local products, hence
leaving no room for creative tourism develop-
ment. The Don Wai management was primar-
ily concerned with the capacity of their
community as tourists and visitors continue
to visit the place because of their popular
food and wide selection of products. As the
former sub-district headman says,
What we have done to our market make it last suc-
cessfully for the past ten years. This is sustainable
and so far we have no major problems.
Therefore, no compelling motive drives the
community to change Don Wai market.
The community leader of LPY was the most
confident among the leaders in terms of com-
munity involvement. The LPY market
managed to resume its operations quickly
after the massive nationwide flood in 2011.
Such quick recuperation was attributed to
the willingness of the locals to open the
market because the market meant additional
income for the community. Don Wai also
experienced a fast recovery from the disaster,
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 21
but the nature of the market was different
because more than half of the vendors were
not locals and perceived Don Wai as their
key source of income. Nonetheless, the locals
and vendors in Don Wai were very keen on
participating in other activities aside from
Table 6 Potentials and Constraints in Developing the Floating Markets for Creative Tourism
Potentials
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LPY Local culture and a beautiful scenery that
supports an authentic lifestyle
experience along the river
Positive intentions of the community
leader
Support from the cultural council of the
sub-district
Skills training for local residents, which
will benefit tourism
The cooperation of the locals
KKW Spacious physical setting with a rich local
culture along the river
Unique culture from the Lao community
Cultural capital for herbal remedies and
religious artifacts
Support from the cultural council of the
sub-district
Don Variety of local products
Wai
Strong management and organization of
the market
Collaboration of the locals and vendors
Strong sense of ownership from the
community
merely selling their products. KKW had the
lowest level of commitment and involvement
from the local community because the
income from the market was insufficient,
thereby reinforcing the unwillingness of the
community members to involve themselves in
Constraints
Conflicts among key stakeholders for the
management of the floating market
Consistent development from both the
community leaders and supporters
Passive cooperation from vendors
Requires more creativity and initiative
from local residents
The negative perception of tourism, which
negatively affects the nature,
environment, and social relationship of
the community
Disagreement between the temple and
businesses, which leads to an ineffective
market management
Low level of attractiveness for businesses in
terms of both demand and supply
Lack of collaboration and cooperation of
local vendors
Lack of interest for special type of tourism
from the community leaders
Lack of space and problems with capacity
management
Low enthusiasm from the community
leader
Inertia caused by long-term economic
success
 22 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
any new developments. The leader of KKW
was uncertain whether or not the market was
ready for creative tourism development
because encouraging the locals and gathering
the necessary effort and resources from the
community remained difficult.
Table 6 shows the potential factors and
challenges in the three floating markets, as
determined from the insights of the inter-
viewed community leaders.
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Discussion
The successful implementation of creative
tourism in the floating markets in NP signifi-
cantly depends on how the community deals
with challenges and transforms potential
factors into assets that support this type of
tourism. All three floating markets in this
study suggest that the success and develop-
ment of creative tourism highly depends on
the decision and guidance of community
leaders (Wilson et al., 2001). Therefore, the
success of creative tourism in the community
significantly depends on how community
leaders value the importance of this type of
tourism and on their initiatives and actions
in response to such development. Most of the
community leaders did not perceive the need
to introduce creative tourism in their commu-
nities. Only the leader of LPY demonstrated
such attempt after seeing the potential of the
resources, culture, and human capital in his
community. However, such positive response
was hindered by time-related issues and the
unwillingness of the locals to pursue the pro-
posed activities, which in turn led to the can-
cellation of the plan. By contrast, the
community leaders in KKW and Don Wai
showed very little interest in creative
tourism. The availability of resources, particu-
larly human capital, was prioritized, which led
these community leaders to realize that their
communities might not be ready for creative
development.
Two other forms of capital – cultural and
social capital – may be considered influential
factors for the success of creative tourism in
the community. Floating markets represent
the cultural capital of a community by demon-
strating the lifestyle and culture of people who
reside by the river. However, their level of cul-
tural presentation is considered passive
because these markets do not contribute to
the delivery of cultural understanding to tour-
ists and visitors. Such limitation discourages
the locals of the community to show their
hidden skills and use them for value-added
activities through the addition of creative
elements or to present them in a more active
form to tourists. Most forms of cultural activi-
ties in the markets are supported by external
parties, such as the cultural council of the
sub-district, which sponsors cultural perform-
ances as key activities in attracting visitors.
However, this type of support is provided in
cycles and depends on the amount of funds.
Therefore, the benefits from cultural perform-
ances fluctuate in a cyclical pattern, particu-
larly in KKW where the number of visitors
reaches a high point during the performance
period and then drops when the period ends.
The three markets also have varying levels of
social capital. According to Flora (1998),
social capital generally consists of trust, reci-
procity, and cooperation. These elements are
therefore important indicators of a strong
community, and they encourage local resi-
dents to participate in community projects,
which can affect economic and social enhance-
ment (Park, Lee, Choi, & Yoon, 2012). Evi-
dence shows that KKW has the lowest level
of social capital because of the unequal reci-
procal economic benefits that decrease the
level of cooperation and trust between the
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 23
management and leaders. LPY and Don Wai
show higher levels of social capital than the
other markets, but such capital remains
largely passive.
Power structure is one the key factors that
can either support or obstruct the management
and direction of the floating markets in NP.
The community leaders of the three markets
are powerful and well respected by the resi-
dents in the community because of the auth-
ority vested in their roles (i.e. temple abbot
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and sub-district headman) and their resources
(both financial and other tangible resources,
such as land, rafts, and boats). Therefore, the
management style of key leaders and resource
contributions provide a foundation for the
strong development of floating markets
during the start-up phase. However, in the
case of KKW, the dominant power is exerted
by the temple, which is seen as a highly
respectable institute in the community. The
intention of the abbot to solicit only a one-
time fee for the rent was based on his good
intention toward local vendors, which in turn
reinforces the role of the temple as a supporter
of the community (Prayukvong, 2005).
However, this practice impeded the manage-
ment of the floating market and decreased
the level of participation and involvement
from the locals. The manner by which the
power structure is managed in the floating
market can determine the success of potential
projects, such as creative tourism, and expe-
dite the development process. The power
structure of KKW supports the conclusion of
Gould (1989), who found that community lea-
dership based on resources and elite social
structure might undermine, rather than
enhance, the participation of the community.
The differences in the values and intentions
of the community leaders in establishing float-
ing markets have also varied the nature of
these markets. Such dissimilarities pose differ-
ent causes and effects for the development of
the market, including the aspects of creative
tourism. LPY aimed to become a place that
locals could use as an output channel for
their agricultural products and where they
could use their skills for extra income.
Although these objectives attracted a positive
response from the communities, the time-
and labor-related limitations hindered the
development of LPY. By contrast, the strong
business management philosophy of Don
Wai has led to the problem of inertia on the
part of both the community leader and
vendors. Given that generating sustainable
and satisfactory income from a variety of pro-
ducts and services has been a key advantage
for the Don Wai market, the complacency of
the community members is suspected to over-
shadow the need to enhance their local
culture and create more value-added activities
within the community. Although KKW aimed
to sustain the local community, the market
still suffered from a loose and ineffective
business management. Despite the
cooperation of the local community, the
benefits that the community received from
the market were neither attractive nor satisfac-
tory to encourage the participation of the
locals. The degree of participation and invol-
vement of local communities is significantly
related to the management direction of the
leaders. When creative tourism is developed
from community participation, the commu-
nity in which the local residents display
strong community values and welcome new
aspects that can enhance local culture and
skills has a high potential to become creative
tourist destinations.
The importance of policies to creative
tourism is not evident in NP, which indicates
that the creative tourism movement is not dis-
cussed in NP at a policy level. The types of
activities supported by the cultural council of
 24 Walanchalee Wattanacharoensil and Malinvisa Sakdiyakorn
the sub-districts are those that mainly stage
performances for the purpose of attracting
tourists. Therefore, creative tourism still
lacks support from the local government, and
such form of support still relies on the
passive concept of cultural tourism. The
potential to initiate creative tourism in the
community is unlikely to stem from within
the community itself because of the aforemen-
tioned reasons. However, some floating
markets are beginning to demonstrate their
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 08:26 05 October 2015
potential resources. For creative tourism to
take root in such environments, the local gov-
ernment needs to develop policies and support
efforts (Wilson et al., 2001) that promote the
concept. Creative tourism in the floating
markets in LP can only be developed through
the guidance, direction, and ability of the com-
munity leaders to respond at the policy level.
Conclusion
This study elaborates the factors that posi-
tively and negatively affect the successful
development of creative tourism, particularly
in the context of floating markets, by focusing
on the perspectives of community leaders.
Although these markets have nearly similar
assets in terms of human and cultural capital,
the various leadership styles and power struc-
tures in these markets differentiate the nature
of their respective social capital and determine
the potential of these markets to be developed
as creative tourist destinations. This idea can
also be applied to other kinds of CBT. To con-
clude, this study contributes the following key
points to the literature.
First, this paper emphasizes the significant
role of community leaders in the establishment
and management of a tourism destination.
These leaders act as initiators, direction
setters, resource contributors, and persistent
doers. They are also the catalyst to realizing
the potential of cultural and human capital of
their community, and they create and maintain
favorable partnerships and collaboration with
key stakeholders, such as vendors, the temple,
and the cultural council of the sub-districts.
Second, this study also contributes to the
CBT literature by identifying the barriers to
creative tourism in the community and by
illustrating in particular the effect of current
power structures within the Thai context.
This study also reveals the significant role of
the temple as a funder, contributor, and cul-
tural preserver of the community. Manage-
ment dilemmas and conflicts are also
revealed to be caused by such influential
power structures. A moral intention can also
generate an undesirable result by disrupting
the nature of supply and demand. Vendors in
communities where the promising benefits of
floating markets are fairly distributed and a
satisfactory income can be earned demonstrate
a relatively high willingness and participation
in enhancing the attractiveness of the destina-
tion. However, in the case of Don Wai, such
positive aspects can also constrain creative
tourism development because of the inertia
caused by the present economic success over-
shadows the willingness of local vendors to
further involve themselves in meaningful cul-
tural activities.
Third, although this study focuses on crea-
tive tourism in the context of floating
markets, its implications can also be applied
to other types of CBT, particularly in the
Thai context where a close relationship
between the temple and community still
exists and where the community leader
remains the primary driver of the success of a
tourism destination. Effective business man-
agement must be practiced by many other
tourism communities and entrepreneurs. This
study highlights the important role of the
 The Potential of Floating Markets for Creative Tourism 25
policy-maker in the provincial level as a driver
of policies and provider of cultural activities.
This study is limited in the sense that the in-
depth motivation of tourists and visitors in vis-
iting NP floating markets has not been investi-
gated. Therefore, the results cannot clearly
estimate the degree of creative tourism con-
sumption required by the visitors. Given that
many visitors are influenced by postmodernism
(Jelinčić & Žuvela, 2012), they search for
emotional experiences and authentic activities
Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 08:26 05 October 2015
by involving themselves in the culture of
another community (Nahrstedt, 1998). There-
fore, the responses of vendors and local resi-
dents to the consumer wave may be
challenged by their passive attitudes. Future
studies must investigate whether or not the
characteristics of the existing floating markets
in NP are suitable to the nature of the visitors
who are impelled by postmodernist urges to
seek for emotional experiences and cultural
authenticity. Qualitative and quantitative
approaches must be adopted to complete the
picture of creative tourism development.
Funding
This work was supported by Creative Academy for Cultural
and Heritage Tourism, Mahidol University, Thailand.
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Appendix
Key questions to the community leaders:
. How was the [name] floating market estab-
lished?
. What are the strengths and constraints of the
markets that attract or deter visitors and
tourists?
. What are the types of visitors or tourists who
prefer to visit this market?
. What are the current challenges and
constraints confronting the floating market?
. To what extent do the local residents involve
themselves in this market?
. To what degree do the local municipality or
government officers in the province assist in
the development of this market?
. Have you heard of the concept of creative
tourism before?.
(The researcher briefly described the crea-
tive tourism concept to the interviewees,
regardless of their answer to the above ques-
tion, through the use of words and photo-
graphs of actual creative tourist
destinations.)
. Does your community have a unique and
attractive culture that can induce tourism
activities, attract tourists to participate,
and enhance their understanding of the
local community?
. How applicable is the creative tourism
concept in your market?
. What are the requirements of the practice of
creative tourism in your market?.
Thank you very much for your time and par-
ticipation.