Empowering people to build quality tourism products that are not only creative but also have a connection between the past and the present... That is also the characteristic of products that bear the imprint of indigenous culture.
Community tourism in Vietnam is being identified as the type that brings the most sustainable economic development benefits to local residents. This type not only helps people protect ecological resources, but also preserves and promotes unique local cultural features.
However, domestic community tourism activities still face many difficulties and challenges. Therefore, at the workshop “Empowering local communities through sustainable tourism” held yesterday afternoon (September 5) in Ho Chi Minh City, experts shared effective community tourism models to learn from each other.
Create identity, don't "copy"
Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Chiaki Oya, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) Asia Pacific Support Office, emphasized the important role of community-based tourism in preserving culture and improving the livelihoods of local people. Ms. Chiaki Oya also affirmed that cooperation between stakeholders is a key factor to ensure sustainable tourism development.
Vietnam is a country assessed by UN Tourism to have great potential in natural landscapes, historical values, diverse indigenous cultures of ethnic groups with customs and lifestyles, and rich culinary culture from regions as the basis for strong development of community tourism.
Sharing about the practice of community tourism in the Mekong Delta region, Dr. Duong Duc Minh, Deputy Director of the Institute for Tourism and Economic Development Research (ITEDR), said that the world's tourism demand is changing. According to the doctor, the world is now moving towards new values established based on traditional cultural values such as uniqueness and originality; natural values such as pristineness and integrity; creative values and high technology with modernity and convenience.
Therefore, to promote community tourism, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of this type of tourism. In addition to tourism livelihoods that are symbiotic with the main livelihood to maintain the household economy, the capacity of household destinations, although often modest, tourism services and infrastructure are minimalist and rustic, but have the highlight of unique cultural experiences for tourists. In particular, Dr. Duong Duc Minh also emphasized: "Community tourism is an effective way to develop sustainable tourism and practice responsible tourism."
Mr. Duong Binh Minh, Chairman of the Board of Members of CBT Travel Company, once again emphasized that community tourism originates from the needs of tourists who like a lifestyle close to the local people. However, this expert assessed that the reality shows that people in many localities in Vietnam are operating the community tourism model by copying each other rather than following any standards.
He believes that the homestay models that people are currently building are still spontaneous, have not been organized, calculated, and considered properly, and have not gone into substance. The activities of this type of tourism are only meant for sightseeing and enjoying the environment, and rarely achieve the purpose of raising awareness, educating the environment, and feeling the uniqueness, the good, and the beauty in the culture of the indigenous community.
“CBT Travel has organized many seminars, training sessions, and conferences, contributing to changing the thinking of local leaders on how to develop tourism to serve the goal of poverty reduction, helping people improve their living standards through tourism while protecting the environment,” said Mr. Duong Binh Minh.
Experience from Thailand
According to experts, building a quality tourism product not only requires creativity but also a seamless connection between the past and present... That is also a subtle characteristic of tourism products that are distinctive and different, attracting tourists.
At the event, Mr. Natthawut Chaengkrachang, representative from the Department of Sustainable Tourism Management (DASTA), Nan Province, Thailand, shared about the need for an excellent organization to integrate the development of designated tourism areas and promote quality, standard tourism destinations if sustainable growth is desired.
Mr. Natthawut Chaengkrachang cited “CBT Thailand” (Community Based Tourism) which has been used as an important tool for continuous planning and evaluation of community tourism development results in Thailand. This is a standard to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the community throughout the tourism development process.
Based on that, the community and training units can effectively build capacity and promote the potential of the community. Most importantly, CBT Thailand is used as a monitoring tool to prevent unwanted negative changes in the community when addressing tourism needs.
Representatives from Thailand also proposed the idea of local people’s tourism for local people. This is one of the solutions for sustainable tourism, because local people will be the direct subjects making the main decisions to develop local tourism and will be the ones who fully enjoy the benefits from tourism development./.
Taking place within the framework of the 18th Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo 2024 (ITE HCMC 2024), the conference “Empowering local communities through sustainable tourism” by The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and the Asian Tourism Exchange Center (APTEC) jointly organized the workshop, attracting the attention of nearly 200 experts, researchers, representatives of international organizations, and tourism management agencies. |
Source: https://baolangson.vn/trao-quyen-cho-nguoi-dan-dia-phuong-de-phat-trien-ben-vung-du-lich-cong-dong-5020655.html
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