AN INVESTIGATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SITUATIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING TOURISTS' BEHAVIORAL INTENTION TO CHOOSE BANGKOK AS THEIR FINAL DESTINATION

This study aims to explore the factors attracting international tourists to visit Bangkok. A total of 396 questionnaires were completed by participants, and they were tourists who visited the main three tourist attractions in Bangkok. The results showed that international tourists were attracted to visit Bangkok by physical attractions, sociopsychological attractions, and available time. Most tourists decided to visit Bangkok as a tourist destination. In terms of physical attractions, tourists decided to go to Bangkok to escape the terrible winters of their hometown. Regarding sociopsychological attractions, tourists desired to go to Bangkok because of attitudes of local people. In addition, the amount of time tourists could spend traveling in Bangkok matched with tourists' available vacation time, which motivated them to visit Bangkok. The finding of this study suggests that infrastructure and facilities of physical and sociopsychological attractions need to be developed to attract more international tourists to visit Bangkok.