Terrific Vietnam

Social-cultural

-Strengthened communities through revitalization of cultural resources. As seen in the article Don Village Festival to feature various activities, the festival, which aims to attract both domestic as well as foreign tourists, will showcase activities like the traditional buffalo slaughtering, elephant race, and dug-out canoe race. These activites is siad to help visitors learn more about the culture of the Don Village.

-Facilties developed for tourism have benefited residents. According to TravelDailyNews, a 11.1 million USD project was started to promote sustainable tourism in 5 targeted provinces. The project will help to improve tourism related infrastructure as well as support pro-poor community-based tourism projects. The 5 targeted provinces that have potential for tourism development are Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Binh and Quang Tri.

-Encouraged civiv involvement and pride. As mentiooned in a report by The Netherlands Development Organization- Vietnam, a community-based tourism development in Sapa aimed to support the active participation of the community in tourism desicion making and implementation and also reduce the negative impacts in the field of culture and environment. the Hmong people are involved as guides for tourists which stimulates feelings of pride in their local heritage.

-Here comes the negative part, resource use conflict. According to Viet Nam News, thousands of peasants in Kim No, fought with the Public Security and the army in order to preserve their rice fields. This all started when the Hanoi Government decided to sell the food planing fields to Korean developers to build a luxury golf course to accommodate foreign vacationers.

-Also, in some areas of Vietnam, there was a change or loss of indigenous identity and values. Some communities have seen their customs and traditions changed to suit visitors rather than their own needs. As Tourism Development In Vietnam puts it, it is called staged authenticity. One example is the village of Klong, which is marketed to English speaking visitors as the "Chicken Village". The tribes-people do not even live in the village and the textiles supposedly woven, were made in a factory.

Economic

-Increased standrard of living among locals. As tourism growth continue to rise, many tourism-related job opportunities have surfaced and this benefits the locals, as tourism is a very versatile and divere industry which supports a range of income-earning opportunities. Also, those who undergo vocational skills training to prepare themselves for their jobs can get to earn higher wages, which in turns increase their standard of living.

-For the Governemnt, tourism has proved to be a significant source of investment and tax earnings. This is because tourism has benefited the hotel, construction, service sectors as well as service-oriented industries.

Environmental

-Increased awarenss of the environment. The authorities in Vietnam have decided to develop environmentally agro-forestry activities, encourage community based ecotourism. Ecotourism parks have also been developed to protect the environment

-However, despite the government's efforts, there is still environemental changes. For exmple, deforestation has occured to make way for the building of large-scale resorts. Residual chemicals and waste water disposal from hotels and golf-courses have also lead to the damage in the susrrounding environment.

Political/ Legal

- Decentralization of government. Provincial and district-level authorities have been given greater responsibilities to manage tourism planning and development. This decentralized and more integrated approach was said to enhance opportunities for tourism development.

- In 2003, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) drafted a Tourim Law
to ensure that people engaged in tourism are paid fairly and received adequate social protection in the form of benefits from tourism development. Also, a "narrator", one who delivers on-site interpreting services to tourists no longer need to hold a degree as the government feel that the rural poor are the most appropriate interpreters of their own culture.

Labels: Changes