Vietnam Tourism
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Vietnam Tourism
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The reality of Ecotourism in
Vietnam today According to Nguyen Van De (2002), there was a 7.1-fold increase in international tourist visits from 300,000 in 1991 to 2.14 million in 2000; domestic tourism experienced a 7.5 fold rise, from 1.5 million to 11.3 million visits. This is a high rate of increase compared to other countries in the region, bringing international tourism in Vietnam to a near equal level with the Philippines and to about one quarter of that of Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Those referred to as ecotourists account for over 30% of international and nearly 50% of domestic tourists (Luong 1999). Tam Dao National Park receives 120,000-150,000 visitors every year (Tien 2002). Tourism in Nam Cat Tien is restricted, but still some thousands of mostly young people visit this area. Meanwhile, ecotourists to Ha Long Bay number 400,000. Ecotourism has been increasing in recent years, with domestic visitors rising more rapidly than international ones, accounting for up to 9.5 million people in 1998 (Luong 2000). Most ecotourists are adventurous young people and researchers who focus on national parks and nature reserves.
Source: Luong 2000 Because ecotourism is important for environmental education, maintenance of indigenous culture, and local economic development, both investment and government encouragement are required. Fillion et al. (1992, cited in Ceballos-Lascurain 1996, cited in Le Van Lanh 1999) estimated that international ecotourism generated USD 93-233 billion in 1988, and in fact, most nature reserves in the world are dependent on ecotourism revenues. But ecotourism also needs investment in human resources (especially tourist guides), management, and fundamental research and planning focused on the natural environment of proposed ecotourism sites. Investors at home and abroad have preferred to focus on infrastructure like hotels and restaurants. What investment does exist goes mainly to national parks and nature reserves and comes from the state budget through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and from international organizations like WWF and the governments of the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Total capital investment in national parks and nature reserves from 1994 to 1999 was VND 71.1 billion (USD 1.1 million today). According to the Institute of Tourism Research and Development’s 1999 investigation, visitor entrance fees generated VND 386.2 (USD 25,150) million for reinvestment in infrastructure, conservation, and forestry development (Luong 2000). Poor and uncoordinated management and organization of ecotourism have limited the development of this sector. Most resorts—beaches and other popular sites—are under the management of provincial tourism departments. In nature reserves and national parks, there is coordination between management boards and tourism corporations, which make investments in infrastructure and enjoy partial profits collected from fees. But there are often too many overlapping jurisdictions. For example, special use forests are managed by the forestry sector. The management boards of National Parks are under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; those of Nature Reserves and Cultural, Historical and Environmental Forests are under Provincial and City People’s Committees. In Con Dao National Park, the local units involved in tourism are the district government, Con Dao National Park, tourism managers, military units, and local fishermen. According to new regulations governing the management of special use forests promulgated according to Decision No. 08/2001/QD-TTg by the prime minister (November 11, 2001), the Ministry of Culture and Information in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for establishing and managing Cultural, Historical and Environmental Forests. This tangled web of oversight has yielded no national strategy for ecotourism in Vietnam. And although tourist routes have been set up, no zoning plans have clearly delineated areas for ecotourism activities in national parks and nature reserves. |
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Vietnam Tourism
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