การพัฒนาเทคนิคการประเมินคุณภาพเชิงทัศน์สำหรับพื้นที่บริการการท่องเที่ยวในอุทยานแห่งชาติเอราวัณ / นทพร เกตุวัฒนาธร = Development of visual quality assessment technique for tourist’s service zones in Erawan National Park / Nottaporn Gatewattanatorn
The objectives of this study are to identify problems and assess their impacts due to tourist’s development within Erawan National Park, under visual quality assessment framework. Then, propose appropriated visual quality improvement to alleviate these visual impacts, together with the conclusion of methods and processes to be implemented as a simple visual assessment tool that can be adapted to evaluate any national park visual’s quality. Methods of this study are divided into 4 parts which are:- (1) selected an appropriated site and designated important view points of each tourist zone in the national park. (2) analyzed and assessed visual impacts of selected view points by identify elements and visual impact characters occurred within these zones. (3) created visual improvement alternatives using photo montage technique, then developed a photo questionnaire to survey Thai, foreign and local tourists’ opinions as well as national park’s staffs toward those proposed alternatives. Summarized results from questionnaires and concluded landscape improvement guidelines for those visual impacts. Finally, concluded methodologies to develop a visual assessment tool for tourist service zones in the national park, as guidelines for national park’s staff. The results of this study show that all 7 zones of tourist areas within Erawan National Park shared 5 groups of element that created visual impact to the selected view points related to their physical characters, functions, and possibility to diminish the visual impacts. These elements are (1) building and large structure; (2) signage; (3) site furniture; (4) activity area; and (5) vegetation. According to literature review, there are 4 mitigation techniques for visual impact improvement which are remove, relocate, redesign, and screening with vegetation. Most of the questionnaire respondents agreed with buildings improvement by toning down their color and reducing their height. For signage and site furniture, relocating and redesigning them to blend with the surrounding are accepted. With regard to the activity areas, they should be maintained to be harmony with nature, decorative plant should be replaced with indigenous vegetation and garden landscape should be prohibited. At last, visual quality improvements techniques for Erawan National Park tourist’s service zones have been recommended and a simple visual assessment tool for natural tourist attractions that any organization can be applied, has been developed.
