Travel Behaviors of Thai and Foreign Tourists Traveling to Surat Thani Province

Increasing of tourists? number has impact on the tourism economy and the change in the structure of the local economy and society. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study travel behaviors of Thai and foreign tourists traveling to Surat Thani Province, Thailand, in order to be guideline for the tourism planning and development in the province, which can lead to effectiveness of tourism strategy and marketing to suit the needs of tourists and targets group. There were 798 samples in total. The data collection tool was the questionnaires. The frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used to analyze the data. The study found that tourists between the ages of 21 and 30, who had graduated with a bachelor?s degree, and worked in private business or company, mostly chose to travel to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao, respectively. Most of them chose to travel with family and friends with the aim of natural attraction. The findings revealed that most of tourists received information from the internet, friends telling and television, respectively. Time of spending was less than one week and travel cost was between 1,001- 2,000 Baht (between USD 30 - 62) per day. Moreover, the findings found that most of tourists were satisfied in transport quality at good level. However, travel cost, accommodation quality, accommodation cost, and security conditions were found at moderate levels. The overall satisfaction of the visit to Surat Thani province was at good level.