Journal of Aviation, Travel, and Service

Personal factors influencing the decision to choose eco-friendly airlines at Chiang Mai International Airport

2025-04-11T11:28:14+07:00

As the environmental impact of the airline industry becomes a growing concern for both travelers and policymakers, demand for sustainable aviation continues to intensify. Despite the recent global growth in eco-friendly air travel options, research on Thai consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward green airlines, and eco-friendly flight options in Thailand, remains limited. To address this gap, this study investigates how “personal factors” would influence Thai consumers’ decisions to choose environmentally friendly airline services. As an extension, this study provides research-based recommendations to support airlines design targeted marketing strategies for eco-friendly passengers, which are in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) sustainability goals. For the purposes of this study, quantitative research was conducted on 420 passengers at Chiang Mai International Airport. Furthermore, this study employed a ‘one-way ANOVA’ method for the purposes of its statistical analysis. The results revealed that age, education, and income significantly influenced passengers’ decisions to fly with eco-friendly airlines, while gender appeared to have had little to no impact regarding this selection. These findings highlight the importance of targeting well-educated, middle-aged, and higher-income travelers who are more likely to choose sustainable options. However, the scope of this study is limited to a single airport. Future research may conduct at various airports across Thailand and apply mixed-method research to gain deeper information about Thai consumer behavior related to sustainable aviation.

Language Barriers and English Oral Communication Strategies: A Case Study of Thai Vendors Interacting with Foreign Tourists in Hat Yai, Songkhla

2025-05-04T20:26:11+07:00

In Hat Yai’s tourism sector, local marketplaces act as key economic hubs and major attractions for international tourists. However, limited English proficiency remains a barrier to effective communication, hindering commercial activities. Recognizing this issue is essential for research that supports career development and local tourism promotion, yet empirical studies in this specific context remain limited. This research aimed to: 1) investigate the language barriers encountered by Thai vendors while interacting with foreign tourists in English at the markets in Hat Yai, and 2) examine the strategies employed by the Thai vendors to overcome these language barriers. This qualitative study employed purposive sampling to conduct interviews with 30 vendors operating in three major markets in Hat Yai. The findings indicated that the primary listening difficulty was understanding tourists’ accents (76.67%), followed by vocabulary issues (56.67%). With regard to speaking, challenges primarily involved limited vocabulary (83.33%) and pronunciation (33.33%). To resolve these challenges, vendors regularly asked tourists to repeat themselves (43.33) and used Google Translate as a strategy to facilitate communication (43.33%). When speaking, they often relied on non-verbal cues, such as gestures, to complement their speech (63.33%). The researcher recommends organizing training sessions to enhance vendors’ English listening and speaking skills, as well as instructing them on how to use translation applications. These recommendations could significantly improve communication and make smooth business interactions.

Guidelines for Developing the Potential of Ban Na Thon Community-Based Tourism, That Phanom District, Nakhon Phanom Province

2025-05-04T20:25:43+07:00

This research aims to: 1) analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) of Ban Na Thon Community, That Phanom District, Nakhon Phanom Province, and 2) examine the tourism potential of the community. This is a qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews to collect data from 15 tourists who had previously visited Ban Na Thon Community. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. The findings revealed that the community's strengths lie in its rich cultural heritage, local traditions, and indigenous wisdom of the Tai-Kuan ethnic group. However, weaknesses include insufficient accommodation, limited promotional efforts, and a lack of younger generations engaged in tourism management. Opportunities include strong government support for community-based cultural tourism and the use of modern digital technology. Threats involve competition from other tourist destinations within the province, seasonal impacts, and changing tourist behaviors. In terms of tourism potential, Ban Na Thon Community offers distinctive cultural and natural attractions, with convenient access via a main transportation route. The community provides a wide range of tourism activities such as traditional blacksmithing, weaving, basketry, rock salt production, herbal massage, agrotourism, and local culinary experiences. Additionally, the community plays a vital role in preserving and transmitting local culture, offering immersive learning experiences about local lifestyles. The study suggests that the development of Ban Na Thon as a sustainable tourism destination should focus on enhancing local facilities-such as public restrooms, restaurants, accommodations, visitor centers, and bicycle paths-while promoting tourism activities that reflect local identity. Moreover, digital marketing efforts should be strengthened, and community members should be trained in tourism management to build long-term capacity and resilience for sustainable tourism development.

Factors in Organizing Potential Development Seminar Activities for Enhancing the Desirable Characteristics of Aviation Personnel

2025-06-18T16:54:06+07:00

This research article was a Qualitative Research study with the objectives of; 1) studying factors in organizing potential development seminar activities for enhancing the desirable characteristics of aviation personnel and 2) extracting lessons from the circumstances and guidelines for conducting potential development seminar activities in the Airline Business Management Program, Faculty of Management Sciences, Phranakhon Rajabhat University. The research tools were in-depth interviews and expert interviews with 9 purposively selected individuals from the academic and professional aviation sectors. The study focused on collecting qualitative data based on in-depth expertise, combined with documentary research through the review of literature, concepts and related theories, to gather data for lessons learned, integrate experiential learning and conducted content analysis to synthesize logical data into new knowledge.

The research results found that the key factors for effective potential development through seminar activities emphasize the importance of systematic preparation and seminar formats, such as practice-based academic seminars and experiential seminars with lecturers. These are integrated with the concepts of Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA), which focuses on the essential competencies for aviation safety, the concepts of desirable characteristics of aviation personnel (8 core competencies) and the Safety Management System (SMS) as outlined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Including, cultivating a service mind is highlighted to foster students with desirable characteristics for entering the aviation industry.

Lessons Learned from the Bangkok Earthquake on March 28, 2025: Response Guidelines for Aviation, Travel, and Service Sectors in Emergency Situations

2025-06-14T17:24:30+07:00

This qualitative research article adopts an existential-phenomenological approach to the lived experiences of aviation personnel, travel personnel, and service personnel during the Bangkok earthquake on March 28, 2025. It pursues the following objectives: 1) to examine the situation and extract lessons learned from the experiences of those affected by the earthquake and 2) to propose response guidelines for managing earthquake situations that may occur in Thailand. The research tools included: 1) in-depth interviews with 33 purposively selected key informants, 2) documentary research, 3) experiential learning, 4) lesson-learned, and 5) content analysis. The study integrates empirical findings with theoretical concepts to develop new knowledge.

The research found that Thailand remains unfamiliar and inadequately prepared in terms of experience, knowledge, and understanding for effective earthquake response. There is a critical need to enhance both theoretical understanding and practical capacities across multiple dimensions: 1) disaster response in three phases, 2) context-specific preparedness, 3) appropriate behavior during seismic events, 4) personal safety practices, and 5) scenario-based response strategies. This is especially critical in aviation and travel sectors that provide safety-oriented services, to enable proper, effective, confident, and safe responses to potential future earthquakes.