Post-COVID-19 Spatial Resilience in Community-based Tourism: A Case Study on Ayutthaya

Abstract

There are challenges to community-based tourism (CBT) post-COVID-19, and some health measures still need to be taken to prevent the risk of people spreading the disease and remaining safe from infection. It is especially important for those in rural areas, who may have limited access to healthcare and other resources, and certain health measures can be taken to protect themselves and others. Nineteen tourism community cases from rural Ayutthaya were selected for study since their CBT recovered faster from the pandemic than in other provinces. Data were recorded and collected on the physical and actual conditions of the properties surveyed. Principal component analysis was then implemented to the dataset to clarify the major spatial management attributes contributing to decisions on the operation of the tourism community during a crisis. The study results revealed that multi-center tourism communities with several activity bases were more able to fully operate and quickly return to tourism. This pattern of community spatiality is a key factor in promoting resilience in the tourism community during and after the pandemic. The findings are expected to benefit the development of post-COVID-19 community tourism to suggest appropriate approaches for managing a geospatial tourism community.