The Creation of the Old Town Trat’s Tourism Map

In the past, the old town of Trat was a business district. In recent times, Trat municipal has established the community situated along Bang Phra Canal to be "Rak Klong Bang Phra Community". The objective of this research is to create a map for tourists to enjoy scenery and to learn about Trat history from old locals who still carry on the original business on Tana Charoen Road, Chaimongkon Road, and Lhak Muang Road. The study started by surveying and collecting physical data, historical evidence and other elements from secondary sources and local people to find out what the tourists should know. The result is presented on the map and perform usability testing using focus group; 3 Thai traveler groups mixed by ages and genders. The feedback and suggestions were used to revise the map. Usability testing was reiterated by the same focus groups to improve the tourists’ map; then it was tested again by the professional designers for the final map.

The map of old town Trat is hand-designed map. It shows landmarks and points of interest that help tourists quickly identify where they would like to go and plan ahead to their next destination. Technique used for showing landmarks and places of interest by using multiple perspectives, including an orthographic view in a horizontal plane. Oblique and perspective projections were used to show buildings because of the advantage that size and shape of the building does not depend on distance which help tourists in comparing the size and location easily. The final map was designed in A3 paper with 5 folds for easy carrying while traveling. Usability testing representatives satisfied with the map size, folding, sequencing data and building location. Moreover, the contents are useful for tourist to select attractions and places based on their interests.