Abstract:
The objectives of this study were 1) to investigate the Thai tourist's behaviors in using eco lodges services; 2) to evaluate the Thai tourist's satisfaction in using the services of eco lodges. This is quantitative research, the sample consisted of 385 Thai tourists who had used eco lodges services in Chiang Mai Province. The questionnaire was used as the main instrument for collecting data. In addition, the statistical methods are used in data analysis include frequency distribution, percentage, arithmetic mean (X̅), standard deviation (S.D.), T-Test for mean differences, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the research was as follows:
1. Majority of respondents were female, they were between 20-29 years of age, single, held a bachelor's degree or equivalent, being a student, and the average monthly income is less than or equal to 15,000 baht.
2. Thai tourist's behaviors in using eco lodges services: the amount of times that respondents have used the eco lodges over a seven-year period was this is their first stay, with a duration of stay of 2 nights, the most time to use the service is on weekends, the majority of respondents visit with their families, the purpose is to relax, the activities in eco lodges that they are interested in are nature study activities, most of the consumption during their stay is between 1,001 – 2,000 baht, plan to book accommodation are done through travel apps, and the most popular way to get information about eco lodges is information search by themselves.
3. Thai tourist's satisfaction in using the services of eco lodges: they are satisfied at a high level (X̅ = 4.19, S.D. = 0.49). For the satisfaction of the service, when each aspect was considered, there were different levels of satisfaction. The respondents' satisfaction in using the services of eco lodges that were most reported in the survey was the satisfaction with good hospitality of the staff in the eco lodges (X̅ = 4.33, S.D = 0.57).
4. The comparisons of satisfaction in using the services of eco lodges with classified by their gender, education level, occupation, average monthly income indicated that there was a statistically significant difference at the 0.05 level. However, when classified by their gender and marital status, there was no statistically significant difference at the 0.05 level.