Using Capacity Flexibility Model for responsive tourism logistics: The case of Pattaya city

An evolution of tourist behavior and an introduction of new tourist attractions lead to more land dispersion and higher level of accessibility needs. The development of modern tourism logistics must be carefully conducted to achieve performance of responsiveness by leveraging existing infrastructure and facilities, especially in tourism city with constrained capacities. Regarding to this, the public transport can be considered potential means of tourism logistics development. This paper firstly explores current travel situations and future requirements for Pattaya tourism and investigates specific public transport services in Pattaya city. It also conducts an assessment of the performance in responding travel needs of tourism by using the Capacity Flexibility Model. The model is based on an optimization technique and is developed for selecting the most flexible and efficient vehicle routes and directions among various locations or destinations. The results from the analysis can provide insights for properly designing tourism logistics operations and obtain appropriate vehicle routes and travel patterns suitable for travel conditions of Pattaya city. In addition, this study can be employed as a framework for managers in designing the responsive logistics and operations and making decision regarding transportation choices in both tourism and industrial contexts.