Tourism Business Resilience and Sustainability during COVID-19: A Geoinformation Evidence of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Abstract Tourism has been a significant source of revenue for Thailand. However, during COVID-19, Thailand’s tourism-related businesses, such as hotels, accommodation, and transportation, suffered greatly. Nakhon Si Thammarat is a second-tier Thai province in the country’s south. Although the tourism businesses in this province suffered during COVID-19, they were expected to recover quickly. In this case, this study aims to highlight the positive aspects of the tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on resilience, innovation, and long-term opportunities. This study analyzed the tourism businesses in Nakhon Si Thammarat using descriptive analysis and satellite imaging based on relative luminance. The descriptive analysis was conducted using flight data to Nakhon Si Thammarat and the occupancy rate, and the satellite image analysis used Planet data from PlanetScope sensors in the Wat Chedi area, a key tourism recovery area in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The satellite image analysis compared the land use and land cover (LULC) from 2018 to 2021 satellite images. Four satellite images from each year compare the LULC to indicate the change in the land used in the focused area. The results found that the tourism situation in Nakhon Si Thammarat had improved faster than Thailand’s overall tourism situation, and the area’s tourism industry’s recovery and resilience to sustainability were primarily due to the influence of faith in Wat Chedi.