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Abstract:
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Ecotourism is said to be a high prospective trend in tourism development. Theoretically,
it addresses the triple bottom line of the World’s pressing issues. Nevertheless, the reality does not
usually come up to expectations. Very few case studies were proved to be successfully adopted.
One of the reasons is the weakness in terms of community approach, particularly in developing
countries. In Vietnam, the problem is even more serious due to the fact that residents are rarely
aware of their right in tourism planning and their responsibility towards the environment, as well
as a shortage of a common information channel among a local government, tourism enterprises
and citizens. As a result, the development of the so-called ecotourism destinations, which have
wildly boomed, has little to do with benefit-sharing with local people, who are assumed to be the
key to sustainable development. By assessing the potential of community-based ecotourism in Van
Don, focusing on Bai Tu Long National Park, this paper will suggest some guidelines for the
establishment of an ecotourism site at the very early stage to order to avoid distorted development.
Efforts are made to emphasize on a more proactive role the inhabitants should play in the tourism
industry to improve their own life as well as their native land. |