Assessment of Factors Affecting the Tourism Environment of Da Lat City.

2002

981,321	73,979
2003	1,141,071	79,849
2004	1,326,827	85,774
2005	1,560,972	100,675
2006	1,848,000	97,000

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(Source: Lam Dong Tourism Company & Lam Dong Department of Tourism and Trade)

Environment affected by humans, environment affected by:

- Infrastructure: If this factor is developed well, the environment will be well-guaranteed to serve human life. On the contrary, it will cause difficulties for the environment and human life.

- People's living standards also have a great impact on the cultural and civilized environment in many areas, more or less strongly affecting the living environment. Human economic activities such as production, resource exploitation, trade, transportation, services, etc. have a certain impact on the environment in general and the tourism environment in particular. Economic development, environmental changes due to human hands: land is eroded, forests are destroyed, air

polluted by waste, water sources, ...

Economic development also has a great impact on the environment. However, we see that economic development is impossible without these or other changes in the surrounding environment. The problem is that leaders at all levels have innovative thinking in management and administration to ensure that changes in economic development will not affect the human living environment. It is a change that must promote the ability to improve the natural environment, creating the most favorable conditions for human life and production activities.

The destruction of forests in some places in Da Lat has affected the quality of the forests and the environment. And it is the destruction of forests that has

The rains caused floods in Da Lat city for many days. In addition, it also made the climate unusual. We see that Da Lat has become hotter in recent years. That is also due to the fact that the forest has been destroyed a little, the air is affected because the trees are not strong enough to regulate the general temperature in the city.

Agricultural production is an industry that accounts for a large proportion of Da Lat's revenue, but it also has a great impact on the environment. The environment is affected and polluted by the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides from vegetable, flower, fruit and root growing areas of gardeners around the city. Da Lat is characterized by growing and producing many vegetables and flowers. There are hundreds of species of flowers grown around the city. Due to profit, people have sought ways to rapidly increase crop yields by using pesticides. This is the biggest source of pollution for the city's environment.

Dalat's tourism resources can be said to be very large, the problem of how to exploit the resources is the responsibility of the manager. The current state of the environment (urban, natural, landscape) shows that there are still many issues to discuss and have a direction for long-term development. Solutions to protect and develop the environment must be suitable to the reality in Dalat and the general development capacity of the whole Lam Dong province.

Previously, natural conditions were still primitive, without human impact, in fact there were points that were not suitable for the environment serving tourism. When there was human impact, we also saw certain advantages such as strengthening the infrastructure serving travel and living now and in the future. The impact of human impact, in a positive way, is to change the appearance of the city in terms of landscape, aesthetics and structure, ... with a modern scientific nature to bring the city's vision to a new level of development.

Human movement has made the face of Da Lat - a tourist city increasingly change in the direction of economic development. People have a certain mindset about the environment and life, it is connected and the connection is continuous throughout the development process. The problem is how to develop the economy, improve human health, while at the same time the environment is constantly improved.

However, human impact is not only positive. In fact, human impact has greatly affected the environment and it has changed many aspects. That is: Some areas are used for entertainment, but not diverse, rich, not clean, not attracting many customers. Hotel and restaurant activities are not service-oriented but focus on simple, small-scale services. Waste sources also pollute the environment, many places have not been cleared, many places are still clogged or have unpleasant odors such as Camly Waterfall, Xuan Huong Lake, Than Tho Lake, etc.

Da Lat has many natural landscapes that create an ideal environment in all aspects. These are high hills and mountains under the vast pine forests, natural lakes such as Tuyen Lam Lake, Xuan Huong Lake, Than Tho Lake, Valley of Love, Mong Mo Hill, Suoi Vang Lake, Chien Thang Lake, ... have created famous landscapes for a long time in the city. Hills, forests, flowers, lakes, ... are natural landscapes that create Da Lat with characteristics that many places do not have. It can be said that nature has endowed Da Lat with strengths that the environment here is wonderful and it is the basis for the development of a potential tourism industry.

Ecology affects the environment: trees, forests, air, water, etc. In Da Lat, we see Tuyen Lam Lake, a large lake, whose area has been expanded to serve irrigation and tourism needs. The lake area has been expanded to 32

km 2 , depth in some places up to 30 m. At the end of the lake is a spillway standing tall in the middle of wild mountains and forests with ten sturdy, solid stone steps as if to preserve and protect the poetic beauty of a majestic lake.

High population density will affect the environment because the increased demand for food, living and living will impact the environment.

The cultural level of the population. If high or low, it will directly affect the environment due to issues of awareness, living, etc.

Urban architecture is not really unified. However, the characteristic of Dalat is hills and mountains, which can have suitable architecture, but in reality, it is still inadequate because self-construction according to one's own ideas has also lost the beauty of the city.

Table 2.2: REFERENCE FOR URBANIZATION RATE FORECAST

AREA

1950	1986	2000
North America	64%	74%	78%
Europe	56%	73%	79%
Russia	39%	71%	74%
East Asia	43%	70%	79%
South America	41%	65%	77%
Oceania	61%	63%	73%
China	12%	32%	40%
Africa	15%	30%	42%
South Asia	15%	24%	35%
World	29%	43%	48%

(Source: Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment – Hanoi 1997)

2.2 Evaluate factors affecting the tourism environment of Da Lat city.

2.2.1 Natural factors.

Da Lat is 300 km from Ho Chi Minh City, 350 km from Vung Tau, 230 km from Nha Trang, 230 km from Phan Thiet, 150 km from Buon Ma Thuot. National Highway 20 (from Da Lat to Dau Day) continues National Highway 1 connecting Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces. National Highway 27 connects Da Lat with Dak Lak province. Highway 11 connects Da Lat with the central coastal provinces from Phan Rang town. The railway from Da Lat to Phan Rang is a special railway (cog) that will be restored after 2010. Other roads continue to be upgraded.

With international Dalat, it is only 2 hours flight from 10 capitals and major cities of neighboring countries such as Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Hong Kong from Dalat airport.

After many periods of change, the current coordinates of Da Lat city are determined as follows:

The North borders Lac Duong district. The East and Southeast borders Don Duong district. The West and Southwest borders Lam Ha and Duc Trong districts.

The administrative unit includes 12 wards (from ward 1 to ward 12) and 3 suburban communes (Xuan Truong, Xuan Tho and Ta Nung).

Currently, 70% of the population of Da Lat city lives on tourism and service activities (including tourism, banking, post and telecommunications, etc.), but tourism is the main activity.

According to statistics from Lam Dong Statistics Office at the end of 2005:

- The population of Da Lat is 189,523 people.

- Agricultural area 7,028ha, output 191,695 tons.

Mineral resources in Da Lat are quite abundant, but the level of exploitation has left behind huge consequences. Specifically, within just 5 years, the tin-containing mineral areas in Thai Phien, Than Tho Lake, the headwaters of Da Thien Lake, Chien Thang Lake, and Lac Duong area have been exhausted.

This exploitation left a patchy topography. In peak years, the lakes were heavily polluted, and in many places silt began to form in the lakes.

Along with the exploitation of minerals and construction materials, forests are destroyed to make construction materials and firewood, causing significant damage to the forests.

In agricultural production, from 1975 to present, thousands of hectares of forest have been cleared for cultivation. Among them, a large area of upstream forest has been completely cleared.

It is no wonder that the forest area of Da Lat is shrinking, forest fires occur every year, upstream forests are destroyed, leading to an increase in the amount of alluvium in rivers and streams, accelerating the process of silting up lakes and polluting water sources in Da Lat. Xuan Huong Lake, the city center, is gradually being filled up. Up to now, about 6 hectares of the lake surface have been filled up. During the rainy season, the lake water is turbid. Lakes located at higher terrain levels act as settling lakes and water level regulators and are no longer effective. Than Tho Lake has been almost completely filled up, Me Linh Lake, Van Kiep Lake... have been completely filled up.

Meanwhile, the amount of clean water in reservoirs is decreasing, the capacity of the reservoirs is decreasing, and raising the banks of the reservoirs is not a solution. We need to pay more attention to water resources, protecting water resources is the activity of protecting forests, protecting land and developing forest capital... It is especially important to soon plan production and residential areas in the basins leading to clean water reservoirs to protect domestic water for the city now and in the future.

Because of the large area of forests and wild hills, the land for agriculture is not much, only about 3,600 hectares. With suitable climate and soil conditions, most of the cultivated area here is for growing vegetables and flowers . The types of land suitable for agricultural development are distributed quite concentratedly, convenient for exploitation and protection.

According to the Department of Trade and Tourism, Da Lat's main source of income is tourism services (58%), in addition there are the following industries: construction (23%), agriculture (17%), other industries 2%. (There are also industries - small handicrafts).

The environment has been degraded, so the city's tourism attraction has been affected to a certain extent. Construction areas and houses are built close together without planning, making the city's tourism picture not harmonious. Tourists are not satisfied with the infrastructure (roads, service, transportation, the cleanliness of the environment is degraded, not attractive, ...).

Da Lat is the place where major meetings take place. This place was the meeting point of the Millennium Tourism Year (2000), the meeting place of many important domestic and international sectors. Anniversaries such as the 110th anniversary of the formation and development of Da Lat city (1993), Da Lat Flower Festival 2005, Da Lat Tea Festival 2006, ... have highlighted the ancient beauty of the highland city and the modernity of a city that is renewing and developing every day and every hour.

In Da Lat, besides the pine forest, it is also a suitable place for many orchid species to live and develop, and many other flower species with colors and fragrances that spread widely and pleasantly. In addition, Da Lat also has hundreds of imported hybrid orchids that are being grown for enjoyment and export to other countries. There are also roses and other flowers of Hasfarm Company in Da Lat (Dutch Company) - a place that provides many high-class flowers and large exports, earning a lot of profit from here.

2.2.2. Factors of mechanism and policy.

This is an important issue in the process of protecting and developing the environment for tourism, and is a premise to remove barriers that cause difficulties for economic development in general and for the tourism industry in particular.

The policy mechanism of the authorities has not attracted abundant labor force. Da Lat tourism industry is still limited in the policy of attracting investment for tourism. Tourism projects are still half-hearted, small-scale, starting much later than planned, the management style is still inadequate, not updated with the progress of advanced units. There are strengths in tourism but not exploited much, the ability is still slow. There are no strong measures to improve the capacity to protect the clean environment as well as sustainable development. In recent years, although there have been more advances than before, the effectiveness is still modest.

Awareness of the harmful effects of environmental pollution among the people is uneven, and the dissemination at all levels is not thorough. In the work of environmental tourism services, agencies are not yet closely linked together, so there are times when there is overlap or separation.

Leaders at all levels have not really been closely involved in the work of the environmental sector. Because of the concept that each sector has its own job, each person does their own job, there are still many problems that have not been thoroughly resolved. That is why there are policies that have not been thoroughly implemented or implemented without strict inspection, greatly affecting the specific quality of the environmental sector and the tourism sector of the city.

2.2.3. Other factors

The landscape has not been renovated, water resources and infrastructure that directly affect Da Lat tourism have not been exploited and promoted. Tourists come to Da Lat with the purpose of admiring and enjoying the natural beauty of the city with immense pine forests, hills obscured in the morning mist or at night on the plateau.

The environmental situation in Da Lat city shows us that there are certain concerns in many aspects. The first thing that is affected is that the city's beauty has been affected.

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