Abstract:
The objectives of this research were to study behavior, tourism motivation, and factors affecting the
decision of wellness tourism in the type of spa massage of tourists in Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan
Province. This research was a quantitative research. The sample was 385 Thai tourists aged range from 18
years old or over, who used a day spa massage service in Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.
Questionnaires were used as a tool for collecting data. The statistics used to analyze the data, are Frequency
Distribution, Percentage, Arithmetic Mean (𝐱̅) and Standard Deviation (S.D.), and One-Way ANOVA. The results
found that: 1. Most of the respondents were female aged between 21 - 30 years old. Their most status were
single. Most respondents graduated in bachelor's degree or equivalent and worked as an employee of a
private company. Moreover, they earned an average monthly income of 15,001 - 25,000 baht.
2. Most respondents did not stay overnight and had a main purpose for relaxing. The activity, which
is chosen by most tourists, was a Thai massage. Most travel styles were traveling with family/lovers traveling
by a private car. Moreover, travel costs are mostly 3,001-5,000 bath. The travel plan was based on
accommodation and the perception of spa massage information is mainly from social media.
3. As for the level of motivation of tourists for making a decision on health tourism in type of spa
massage, the overall push factors was at the highest level (𝐱̅ = 4.302, S.D. = 0.628). Considering the different
levels of motivation, the highest level of motivation was safety. (𝐱̅ = 4.567, S.D. = 0.536). While the overall
pull factor was at the highest level (𝐱̅ = 4.468, S.D. = 0.585). When considering each aspect, the result found
that the motivation level was the highest in all aspects. The aspect with the highest level of motivation was
personnel (𝐱̅ = 4.612, S.D. = 0.516).
4. The results of demographic comparison showed that occupation had an effect on the push factor
for wellness tourism decision making and the main tourism destination of tourists will affect the push factors
and pull factors of wellness tourism decision making. However, age and income had no effect on the push
factor and the pull factor in the decision-making of wellness tourism. Moreover, the comparison of activities
performed during the trip had no effect on the push factors for wellness tourism decisions with statistical
significance at the 0.05 level.