Foreign consumer value model for local Thai cultural products purchase

Abstract

When foreigners travel to any tourist destination, they are bombarded with local souvenirs, mass-produced elsewhere and tampering with a visual reference to the host culture, therefore such items cannot satisfy the need of the consumers because they may not be perceived as compatible in values of transaction. Considering the benefit of understanding those values in the design process of local Thai products, the researcher tudied how a foreign traveler perceives those values when deciding on the purchase of products. Therefore, the researcher incorporated those values into the model for further application in product design process. Data collected for this research was from structured interviews with 188 respondents of "foreign" tourists in Thailand. From responses obtained, the resultant model accommodated the captured values and their objective compatibility into four categories of consumer attitude. The compatibility of consumer attitudes across national boundaries presented in the resultant model determining the parameters in the creative practice for the design of a) contemporary souvenir/local handcrafted items/objects b) symbolic of regional culture in accessories art, the latter is the prime consideration. But importantly this model also offers the possibility of retail strategy options relative to the four categories of consumer attitude by indicating that the underlying visceral responses relate to the individual 'lure of the lack" and is influenced by the situational circumstance.