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claiming land ownership (Boonyanant,1999). The Royal Forest Department compromised in 1974 by allowing
farmers to remain on their land under a 50-year lease agreement, that is, no private ownership was permitted
(Lertrit, 2003).
Upon the discovery of the archeological site (SCAS) and to promote its cultural significance,
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was invited by Mr. Bhumadhorn Bhudhorn, the former chief of the Som Dej
Pra Narai National Museum to visit SCAS on October 15, 1986. After her Majesty’s visit to SCAS, conservation
and archaeological research projects funded by national cultural heritage offices were implemented (Bhumadhorn,
1994). The Royal Forest Department up until the present has reforested the vicinity of SCAS as it has also been
mandated to protect the site from illegal entry especially from thieves stealing antiquities for trade.
Thus, this paper aims to discuss the views of the local community (local farmers and residents)
regarding their perceived values of SCAS as a cultural heritage site. Their views regarding the conservation
associated with the development of the site as a cultural tourism destination were also determined.
Methods
A structured questionnaire survey was conducted from December 2007 to March 2008.A total of 217
respondents from the seven villages of Sap Cham Pa sub-district were available and willing to participate in this
study. The perceptions of the respondents were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale to determine the level of
importance attached to the following variables: (a) preservation of heritage for the future generations,
(b) promotion of heritage as new tourist attraction, and (c) co-existence of conservation and tourism.
The numerical values from the Likert scale were averaged and the corresponding standard deviations computed.
The respondents’ views regarding the perceived benefits of developing the site as a cultural heritage attraction
were also determined. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program Version 10.1 was used in
the analysis of the data.
Result and discussion
The survey results are discussed below and presented into
three parts: (a) socio-graphic profile of the
respondents, (b) the local community’s perspectives on conservation and tourism management of the
archaeological site, SCAS, (c) the values of benefits from SCAS
(a) Socio-demographic profile
The majority of the respondents were females (60 %). The respondents ranged from 18 to more than
49 years of age. The main occupation of the respondents was farming (45%), and had no adjunct or
supplementary income. The average family income of the majority of the respondents (28%) was less than Baht
10,000 per year, which is quite below the national average family income (The National Statistical Office of
Thailand, 2009). The respondents had lived in Sap Cham Pa sub-district for some 11-20 years.
(b) Local community’s perspectives on conservation and tourism management of SCAS
The results indicate that the local community had a positive attitude towards the conservation of SCAS
and expressed agreement on the integration of tourism development and the conservation of the study area
