A Thai art interpretation management model of Suvarnabhumi airport

Abstract

The objectives of this research consist of 1. To study the current context of interpretation management of Thai art at the passenger terminal, Suvarnabhumi Airport, 2. To evaluate the effectiveness of the current interpretation methods of Thai art at the passenger terminal, Suvarnabhumi Airport, and 3. To propose a model of Thai art interpretation management at the passenger terminal, Suvarnabhumi Airport. The research employed mixed research methods, including quantitative and qualitative research.

This research selected the departure terminal of Suvarnabhumi Airport as an area for conducting the study. The research examined interpretation management of Thai art existing in the airport in 3 aspects which are information management, presentation management and experience management. As for the art studied, there are Giants, Scene of the Churning of the Milk Ocean, Thai Pavilion and The multi-tiered roof Bushapaka Throne. The information was collected solely from foreign passengers. The sampling method selected was purposive sampling. The research tool was in the form of a questionnaire or an interview which were used with the passengers. There were 410 sets of questionnaires collected. Later on, these sets of questionnaires were categorized according to the 7 continents, pursuant to the list of continents provided by Department of Tourism. Also, the questionnaires were used in obtaining answers from related experts.

As for data analysis in terms of qualitative research, the researcher used the method of content analysis and the analysis of tourists’ opinions on the assessment of the effectiveness of interpretation management of Thai art in Suvarnabhumi Airport. The statistics employed were number, percentage, mean, and S.D. Data collected is presented in tables and interpreted by descriptions. In addition, for the analysis and comparison of tourists’ opinions related to the assessment of the effectiveness of interpretation management of Thai art in Suvarnabhumi Airport in different aspects, the statistics method used was a t-test, when there were more than 2 groups of independent sample groups. If differences could be found regarding the means of groups of population, the test on differences between the means would be tested in pairs by using LSA (Fisher’s Least-Significant Different), and data collected would be presented in tables and interpreted through descriptions.

The research results show that the majority of the respondents include male respondents (60%), those aged between 31 – 40 (31.22%), those who are married (48.78% ), respondents coming from Europe (39.76%), Christian respondents (47.32%), those having a bachelor’s degree, (58.78%), those who are professional workers (33.41%), those earning a yearly income of $ 40,000 – 49,999 (22.93%), leisure as purposes of travelling (75.85%), those having visited Thailand twice (36.34%), and those having visited Suvarnabhumi Airport twice (39.02%). As for the results of the assessment in the 3 aspects, for 1, information management, the opinions are at a low level (= 2.26), for 2, presentation management, the opinions are at a mediocre level (= 2.67), and for 3, experience management, the levels of opinions are at a mediocre level (= 2.97).

According to hypotheses testing, it was found that the sample groups who came from different continents, the groups whose number of times visiting Thailand are different as well as groups with different number of times using Suvarnabhumi Airport have opinions about the assessment of interpretation management of Thai art in Suvarnabhumi Airport in terms of presentation management, information management, and experience management. Meanwhile, the sample groups with different religions have opinions about the assessment of interpretation management of Thai art in Suvarnabhumi Airport in terms of information management.

A Thai Art Interpretation Management Model of Suvarnabhumi Airport consists of 3 key components which are information management, presentation management, and experience management. These components are related in order for interpretation to be as efficient and effective as possible.