TOURISM REVENUE IN MAJOR TOURISM CLUSTER IN THAILAND: DETERMINANTS AND RESPONSES OF MACROECONOMIC VARIABLES

In order to promote tourism sector to be a major sector to enhance the economic growth in Thailand, MOTS set up the tourism clusters which included the province that located in the same area, the same activity and the same culture. This paper aims to find the determinants of the visitor's behaviors and to simulate the response of tourism revenue, sectoral final demand and sector output in Andaman and Lanna tourism clusters. The results can be used for policy recommendation to promote tourism in cluster level. The difference in tourism characters were found. The behavior of tourists in each tourism cluster are difference. They response to the economic factors with their own specific character. For sectoral analysis, tourism revenue concentrates on limited sectors. (1) The specific policy of promoting tourism in each cluster should be proposed. Moreover, the qualitative policy should be applied. (2) As the tourism revenue concentrated in limited sectors, the other policy which is target on the promoting of the others sectors to treat the equality economic expansion together with the enhancing of sectoral linkage. and (3) In fact, tourism section contributes a slice share in total output. Then, the promotion on tourism sector alone cannot generate a significant economic expansion. For sustain economic expansion and development, the alternative policy should be considered.