Activities Towards Sustainable Community Tourism Development

province in sustainable tourism development in Ninh Binh province. At the same time, the study also pointed out the need for coordination between stakeholders such as business organizations, enterprises, and authorities at all levels. In addition, there are studies on types of sustainable tourism development in the locality, specifically the study by Dinh Thi Thanh Mai and Nguyen Thi Be Ba (2013) on sustainable tourism development in Phu Quoc and Duong Hoang Huong (2017) on sustainable tourism development in Phu Tho.

2.1.2. Community tourism

History of development and concept

The term Community Based Tourism (CBT) emerged in the mid-1970s when governments and some scholars made the connection between tourism and poverty reduction in developing countries, especially through strategies such as sustainable tourism (Ashley and Mitchell, 2009). The sustainable tourism movement and the emergence of small-scale, ecotourism products were seen as an alternative to unsustainable mass tourism, paving the way for the development of community-based tourism, which is often a tool established by NGOs to address social issues (Pawson et al., 2017).

Maybe you are interested!

Internationally, there are many terms describing this tourism activity, such as “Community Tourism (CT)”, “Community Based Tourism (CBT)”, “Community Based Ecotourism (CBET)” and “Community Participation in Tourism (CPT)”. In Vietnam, the General Department of Tourism in 2017 identified it as “Community Tourism (CT)”. And the author also agrees to use the term “Community Tourism” throughout the thesis when presenting this type of tourism.

The concept of community tourism has been mentioned by many organizations and individuals around the world. Pachamama Organization (Organization aiming to introduce and preserve indigenous cultures in the Americas) has a very basic concept: "Community tourism is a type of tourism in which visitors from outside come to the local community to learn about customs, lifestyles, beliefs and enjoy local cuisine" (Pachamama, 2019). Referring to the role of the community, Hall (1996) said: "Community tourism is a form of tourism that focuses on the participation of local communities in planning and maintaining tourism development to create a more sustainable industry". And "Community tourism is a type of tourism in which local communities participate in management, have significant control over the development process and economic benefits

“The economic benefits from tourism largely remain within the community,” World Wildlife Fund (WWF, 2001: 2).

Referring to the development goals, Choi and Sirakaya (2006) proposed the concept of sustainable community tourism. They argued that community tourism to achieve sustainability should focus on the goal of maximizing economic benefits, stabilizing the lives of the community, protecting tangible and intangible resources of the community, and providing high-quality educational experiences for visitors.

Community-based tourism plays a very important role for the poor, the Community-based Tourism Network for the Poor stated: “Community-based tourism is a form of sustainable tourism that promotes pro-poor strategies in a community setting. Community-based tourism initiatives aim to involve local people in the operation and management of small tourism projects as a means of poverty reduction and providing alternative income for the community. Community-based tourism initiatives also encourage respect for local traditions and cultures as well as natural heritage . ”

Regarding the conservation of natural and human environment, author Vo Que (2006) said, "Community-based tourism is a method of tourism development in which the community organizes the provision of services to develop tourism; participates in the conservation of natural resources and cultural environment; and enjoys material and spiritual benefits from tourism development and nature conservation".

The 2017 Law on Tourism clearly states that community tourism “is a type of tourism developed on the basis of the cultural values of the community, managed, organized and benefited by the community” . Thus, according to the objectives and scope of the thesis, community tourism is understood as “a type of tourism developed on the basis of the cultural values of the community, managed, organized and benefited by the community, and at the same time responsible for protecting natural resources, the environment and local culture”.

Community tourism content

Developing community-based tourism means that the community has control over tourism with a leading role in product creation, product provision and tourism services. From there, it is possible to maximize the benefits for local people and minimize the negative impacts caused by tourism. On the other hand, community-based tourism often receives support from organizations in training local people with appropriate capacity to do tourism (Muhanna, 2007).

Local community participation is considered a central element in sustainable community-based tourism development (Timothy and Tosun, 2003). Swarbrooke (1999) argues that local communities should be actively involved in planning, management and other activities related to local tourism development. In this view, local community participation should be encouraged because it will (i) support more appropriate decision-making, increase the local economic development momentum (Hall, 1999), (ii) strengthen local responsibility for resource conservation and environmental protection activities, (iii) increase tourist satisfaction when local people participate in tourism activities with pride and enthusiasm (Hall, 1999).

Local communities need to be involved as active stakeholders where local culture and heritage are being established in community-based tourism activities (Milne and Ewing, 2004). Community participation also ensures democracy as local people most affected by tourism have access to and use local values for tourism development within permitted limits (Swarbrooke, 1999; Pavlovich, 2001). Tosun (2000a) has argued that local community participation is a suitable model for tourist destinations at different levels of development. This model allows people to participate in the process of sharing benefits, determining the type of tourism and the scale of local tourism development. Community participation is not only reflected in planning processes, but also aims at achieving common benefits, including the participation of parties in an activity and bringing high efficiency Arai and Pedlar (2003). Sharing the same view, Wilson and Baldassare (1996) said that the active participation of local people has provided parties with the awareness of living in a unified community and sharing the same common goals. In addition to the active participation of local people, author Bui Thi Hai Yen (2012) said that there is also close cooperation between stakeholders such as domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, and local authorities at all levels, in which the majority of profits from tourism are spent on community development and environmental protection, meeting the needs of high-quality experiences of tourists.

The level of local community participation is closely linked to the specific characteristics of each destination. Arnstein (1969) argues that people are involved at three levels: low participation, participation and effective participation. At the level of “low participation”, the local community only plays the role of being approached and participating at the stage designated by stakeholders, from which they can be trained and learn more about community tourism. At the level of “participation”, the local community is provided with information, given priority in tourism development decisions and is consulted on a number of related issues. At the highest level of “effective participation”

“The local community has the power, is fully proactive in building partnerships and together with stakeholders, making key decisions about local tourism development. Pretty (1995) proposed two levels of local community participation, namely passive participation and active participation. At the highest level, local community participation has the degree of influence over external organizations and local resources because people are allowed to take initiatives independently in the implementation process.

Community-based tourism is considered a collaborative, multi-stakeholder development tool implemented by an internal and external group, however, local communities are often excluded from the early stages of tourism planning due to their vulnerability and lack of practical experience. Therefore, the need for the community to play a role in tourism control is key to the successful implementation of community-based tourism (Buccus et al., 2008; Manyara and Jones, 2007).

Actively participating local communities will receive certain benefits, which are created from the tourism development process, which includes the integration of local people, decision-making in exploiting and conserving tourism resources.

Despite the positive aspects, community participation in tourism development also has its limitations. Some of the limitations mentioned include: lack of expertise and training of tourism planning management agencies; lack of funding, lack of interest or commitment from stakeholders; competition for resources; lack of long-term planning or strategy; and lack of agreement on specific structures and processes (Butler, 1999; Milne, 1998; Selin and Beason, 1991; Timothy, 2002).

Products suitable for the community tourism development model often come with the use of non-natural resources such as cultural heritage and traditional culture. These resources need to be protected, preserved, creating a healthy living environment for residents, helping to reduce environmental pollution... thereby bringing benefits to local society. Thus, community tourism helps preserve cultural assets by valuing them in terms of tourism assets (Nguyen Thi My Hanh, 2016).

Research on community tourism in the Northwest region

Studies on sustainable community-based tourism development in the Northwest region in recent years generally agree that local communities need to be empowered in tourism management activities to bring prosperity to the people. The adaptability of local communities is clearly demonstrated in the process of community-based tourism development in this region, for example through participation in

The Thai community has a role in promoting the identity (relationships and influences) of the Thai community in multicultural exchanges with other ethnic groups in the Northwest region, thereby promoting the role of the Thai community, ensuring sustainable development in relations with communities living in the region (Pham Van Loi, 2017). However, in the context of low socio-economic development level of some Northwestern provinces, facing many difficulties, the participation of the community in tourism development is still limited, thereby affecting the achievement of local economic, cultural and social goals in sustainable tourism development. In the development process, the development of community tourism is not only related to the partnership between businesses and the community to bring benefits to both sides, but also related to the support of people inside and outside the community for small-scale businesses. Based on that spirit, businesses will commit to supporting the development of local community projects (Tran Thi Bich Hang, 2015). From there, it will establish community tourism to develop in a sustainable direction based on natural conditions and suitable heritages of the Northwest region with specific characteristics associated with the preservation of heritage values and poverty reduction of the locality (To Ngoc Thanh, 2016).

2.1.3. Activities towards sustainable community tourism development

The terms value creation, value sharing, and value conservation have not been widely used in sustainable tourism research. However, the content and meaning have been mentioned in a number of studies in many related fields, such as entrepreneurship, sustainable development, or tourism development. Authors may use terms that are close to the above terms. Therefore, in this section, the author will review some studies that use terms that have meanings close to the above terms.

2.1.3.1. Value creation

Value creation is a concept that has been mentioned in previous studies on development in general and sustainable tourism development, but expressed in different aspects and contents. Specifically,

Bowman and Ambrosini (2000) argue that value creation is a new proposition that customers value and exchange in the form of investment and service use. Value creation is also expressed through activities such as introducing new products or new production methods, creating new markets and discovering new sources of supply (Schumpeter, 1934). Value creation is the outcome or benefit that customers perceive in relation to the total cost used, demonstrating the ability of products and services to meet needs or provide benefits to customers during use (Baier, 1966).

Value creation in tourism development is expressed through increasing the number of arrivals, length of stay and average spending of tourists; thereby leading to an increase in total spending of tourists at the destination or increasing revenue from tourism activities for the locality (Ceron and Dubois, 2003). The focus of value creation in tourism development is to ensure that tourism development activities are based on the development goals of the community, the main benefits of tourism products ensure long-term sustainability (Timmer and Juma, 2005). Value creation of tourism activities is also expressed through planning tourism development by region, expanding the market for tourism and increasing the number of visitors over the years (Kelly and Moles, 2000); (Ying and Zhou, 2007).

Tourism development associated with value creation activities in tourism development is recognized in facilitating local conditions to increase employment opportunities, diversify income sources for local people and reduce migration for employment (Naipinit and Maneenetr, 2010; Schneider and Vaught, 1993). Cultural diversity in the community is a challenge for communication and cooperation, but it helps to increase the quality and improve the quality of tourism products (Cottrell et al., 2007; Suntikul et al., 2010).

Value creation in sustainable tourism is based on the use of existing resources to create a unique tourism product and to develop the community (Choi and Sirakaya, 2005). Some studies suggest that the increase in the number of visitors will increase traffic and environmental wear, which will affect the living environment of residents, as well as the tourism experience (Johnston and Tyrrell, 2007). For community tourism, change is inevitable when there is a push from tourism development, value creation activities are maintained and development goals continue to support the sustainability of tourism activities (Shaw and Ismail, 2006).

2.1.3.2. Sharing values

In studies on sustainable tourism development, value sharing often refers to the participation of stakeholders and the distribution of benefits gained from the process of developing and maintaining tourism activities. Thus, value sharing is associated with participation in value creation activities - or in other words, sharing work and responsibility in sustainable tourism development.

George and Henthorne (2007) argue that value sharing in tourism development is the activity of connecting the community and sharing revenue from tourism activities with stakeholders. Community value sharing is very important and is part of sustainability in community tourism development, improving tourism products. Connectivity and value sharing

also minimizes the risk of negative impacts on the implementation of community-based tourism (Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004).

The implementation of value sharing from community tourism aims to use a bottom-up approach, starting from the division of responsibilities and the distribution of benefits from tourism activities, enabling the community to control tourism (Ayala-carcedo and González-Barros, 2005). In practice, NGOs or local authorities often occupy an important position and guide the division of responsibilities among stakeholders for small community tourism sites (Arthur and Mensah, 2006; Byrd and Gustke, 2007). The economic benefits obtained from tourism will be used to contribute and regenerate the product, to achieve development goals by increasing income for the community (Arthur and Mensah, 2006; Byrd and Gustke, 2007).

Tourism development provides opportunities for economic benefits by supplementing the main income of tourism participants (Kusakabe, 2006). The advantages of implementing community-based tourism include better planning and promotion of regional tourism. In addition, the role of local government allows communities to benefit from access to natural resources and a more equitable distribution of benefits, in addition to the challenges of limited labor skills and resources (Carbone, 2005; Tak-chuen, 2005; Van Fossen and Lafferty, 2001).

Tourism has provided increased opportunities for education, increased awareness within the community, through cultural exchange, interaction with tourists and the culture of stakeholders (Suntikul et al., 2010). Tourism has benefited local people in diversifying their livelihood options and alleviating poverty in poor countries (Nicolau, 2008). This benefit is reflected in four main areas: profits earned and distributed to stakeholders; taxes collected and paid, wages and jobs created; and purchases of local supplies and raw materials.

2.1.3.3. Resource conservation activities create value

Tourism development associated with conservation of resources to create value has been mentioned in a number of previous studies, in which conservation is defined in two aspects: conservation of natural resources and conservation of cultural resources.

Choi and Sirakaya (2005) identified the key components of sustainable tourism as the need to provide some benefits from tourism without harming social, cultural and ecological systems. Conservation of resources that create value in tourism development is an activity that links tourism development with the responsibility to conserve natural resources, preserve the environment, and maintain the prosperity of local people (Amanda L Stronza et al., 2019). Conservation of the source of value for tourism activities is the integration of tourism

Ecotourism, community tourism, in which resource exploitation activities for tourism development are associated with conservation and regeneration activities on the basis of inherent values (Cousins et al., 2009).

Tourism development is an important tool for preserving culture and traditional practices, which is reflected in the presence of unique cultural aspects in tourism development and the daily lives of local people (Mbaiwa, 2004). The economic value associated with the preservation of these cultural assets increases the value of the community, empowers the community, and allows the community to interact with stakeholders in tourism activities (Mbaiwa, 2011; Ruiz-Ballesteros and Hernández-Ramírez, 2010). Tourism contributes to the protection and enhancement of the environment; Revenues from tourism activities (taxes, fees, subsidies, etc.) will be reinvested, used for environmental protection and improvement of tourism facilities (UNEP, 1999).

Conservation of resources creates value towards prioritizing environmental protection in the development of community-based tourism (Gilmore and Simmons, 2007). The environment represents a large part of culture, and the value and pride attached to cultural assets are the same for environmental assets. Environmental conservation and protection of natural resources are central to community culture as well as tourism sustainability (Binns and Nel, 2002; Gössling et al., 2004). The benefits of community-based tourism development in terms of environmental and cultural conservation have a positive impact on the sustainability of the tourism product, as well as bringing benefits to the community. Where communities use natural and traditional cultural resources for tourism, the conservation of these assets is both a protection of community resources and a protection of the tourism product and a enhancement of community pride (Mbaiwa, 2011; Liu, 2012). The role of perceptions of tourism activities and conservation of source values has a significant influence on perceptions of tourism, as individuals use a combination of positive and negative personal experiences and knowledge about tourism to express their general attitudes towards tourism (Suntikul et al., 2010).

2.2. Theoretical basis

2.2.1. Stakeholder theory

Stakeholder theory is applied in sustainable tourism development through identifying stakeholders and their roles in tourism development. Specifically as follows.

Comment