Assessment of the Current Status of Ecotourism in Tam Dao National Park

PCC = AD Rf

In there:

o PCC is the maximum number of visitors that the tourist routes can accommodate or the physical carrying capacity of the tourist routes in Tam Dao National Park (Unit: visitors)

o A is the area or length of the tour route (Unit: m 2 , m). In the topic, tourists travel along available trails, so A is the length of the tour route, unit is m.

Data collection method: Data on route length is inherited from documents of the Environmental and Tourism Service Center combined with field surveys and comparison on maps.

o D is the space standard or the area needed for a tourist to move easily (Unit: person/m2 , person/m).

Data collection method: Normally, the value of D is calculated as 1m2 or 1m long for 1 tourist ( Source: Hamed HassanPour Kourandeh and Ebrahim Fataei. “Estimation of Tourism Carrying Capacity of Fandoqloo Forest in Ardebil Province, Iran” and determined through interviews with the Director of the Center for Environmental Education and Services, forest rangers)

Rf (Rotation factor) is the maximum number of visitors per day at a tourist attraction. Normally, Rf is calculated by the number of times allowed to stay at the route or tourist attraction/the number of times visitors stay at the route or tourist attraction.

Rf is calculated by the formula: Rf = Tcp/ Ttq (2)

Tcp is the time allowed for visit.

Ttq is the time visitors stay at the tourist attraction.

Data collection method: Information on the opening hours of Tam Dao Town Forest Ranger Station and the average visit time of a tourist was obtained from interviews with the Director of the Center for Environmental Education and Services and forest rangers. The opening hours of Tam Dao Town Forest Ranger Station are 10 hours/day.

However, because the capacity is also affected by specific conditions of the tourist area and route such as environment, ecology, and society, we need to calculate the actual capacity of the tourist routes at Tam Dao National Park.

Actual capacity of tourist routes in Tam Dao National Park (ERCC -

Effective Real Carrying Capacity ). The calculation formula is as follows:

ERCC = PCC-Cf1- Cf2- Cf3- ...- Cfn. (3).

In which: Cfi (Conrrective factor) is the coefficient of negative factors that need to be eliminated to avoid negative impacts on the ecological area, often applied to standards or allowable thresholds when applied to calculating the impact. These coefficients are calculated as a percentage. Therefore, ERCC can be rewritten as follows:

ERCC = PCC. . .

In there:

o ERCC is the actual carrying capacity of the route and tourist area (Unit: people).

o PCC is the maximum number of guests that the routes and tourist areas can accommodate or the physical load capacity of the routes and tourist areas (Unit: people)

o Cfi: The limit factor is calculated as Cfi =Mi/Mt

Where Mi is the limit value of the i-th influencing factor, Mt is the sum of the limit values ​​for a regional point that tourists visit.

Common limiting factors in ecotourism areas

The characteristics of forming eco-tourism areas are often places with potential natural resources, with wild nature, high mountains, dense forests, and dangerous cave areas. This is also an area that is often affected by unusual weather and climate factors such as rain, storms and floods; an area with unsynchronized infrastructure, difficult travel... these are limited impact factors that occur. For Tam Dao National Park, the identified impact factors include:

- Weather coefficient: Limit coefficient of storms, monsoons, and droughts that often occur during the year.

Collection method : Based on data from Tam Dao Meteorological Station, Vinh Yen Meteorological Station combined with interviews with officers of Tam Dao Town Forest Ranger Station. The number of rainy, humid, and cloudy days in Tam Dao Town is about 200 days, equivalent to 2000 hours/year; in Tam Dao National Park, the number of rainy and humid days is about 50 days, equivalent to 500 hours, and the time of intense sunlight from 12:00 to 14:00 (May, June, July), equivalent to 180 hours. These are unfavorable times for visitors.

- Infrastructure limitation coefficient : road slope; This coefficient is calculated as a percentage by determining the length of the road section with a high slope.

Collection method : through interviews with the Board of Directors of the Center for Environmental Education and Services and field surveys combined with comparison on maps.

* General conditions apply to the following routes:

- Maximum number of guests per group is 10 people.

- Minimum distance between groups is 100 m.

- Opening hours for visiting are 10 hours/day.

To calculate the tourist capacity of each route, the study determined the specific characteristics of each route such as route length, average time for a tourist visit... and the influencing factors on each route such as the number of cloudy, rainy, and sunny days; the steepness of the road... according to the following table:

Table 2.2. Characteristics of ecotourism routes in Tam Dao National Park

TT

2.4.2. Evaluation of the effectiveness of ecotourism activities at Tam Dao National Park

2.4.2.1. Economic efficiency

a. Investigation criteria:

- Revenue from tourism activities of Tam Dao National Park.

- People's income from tourism.

b. Research method

(1) Method of inheriting and synthesizing data

- Inheriting reports on tourism business situation of Tam Dao National Park.

- Use excel software to create a chart showing economic efficiency to evaluate the level of change in revenue each year.

(2) Interview method

- Conduct interviews to collect data on tourism activities from 50 households.

2.4.2.2. Social efficiency

a. Investigation criteria

- Positive and negative impacts of tourism activities on local communities.

- Level of people's participation in tourism activities.

b. Research method

* Interview method

- Interview commune and district officials about the rate of households participating in tourism activities

- Interview with people:

+ Interview subjects: tourism service business households, agricultural and forestry production people.

+ Number: 50 households, households are randomly selected.

+ Location: Ho Son Commune, Tam Quan, Dai Dinh, Dao Tru, Tam Dao Town

+ Interview method: direct interview and through questionnaire

+ Interview time: December 2016, noon or evening.

+ Interview content: Level of people's participation in tourism activities

o General information: Occupation, qualifications, gender.

o Tourism activities people have participated in

o Relationship between people and Tam Dao National Park

o People's wishes for tourism activities

(Specific content in Appendix No. 02)

Figure 2.3. Diagram of interviews with households in Ho Son commune

Figure 2.4. Diagram of interviews with households in Tam Dao Town