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Basic Requirements for Ecotourism

- Support conservation, ensure ecological sustainability: The challenge for ecotourism in any country or region is to exploit the potential for tourism appropriately, ensuring product quality without causing harmful impacts back to the environment. Ecotourism can generate revenue for resource conservation management in addition to socio-cultural benefits. Financial contributions with a portion of the cost of the tourist trip can help pay for biodiversity conservation projects.

- Ecotourism is linked to environmental education: The environmental education feature of ecotourism is a second fundamental element that distinguishes it from other types of nature tourism. Explanation and environmental education are important tools in enhancing the enjoyable travel experience and enhancing visitors' knowledge and appreciation of the environment, leading to positive actions towards conservation, contributing to the long-term sustainability of ecotourism activities in natural areas.

- Bringing benefits to the local area: Ecotourism improves the lives, increases the benefits for the local community and the environment of the area. The local community can only participate in the operations of ecotourism, in terms of providing knowledge, practical experiences, services, equipment and products for customers. These benefits must necessarily "weigh" more than the environmental and socio-cultural costs arising from tourism that the local community has to bear.

- Satisfying tourists' needs for travel experiences: Satisfying tourists' desires with interesting travel experiences is necessary for the long-term survival of the ecotourism industry, of which an important part is tourist safety and must satisfy or exceed tourists' expectations.


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1.4 Basic requirements for ecotourism

According to Drumm (2002), quoted in the Forestry Department's 2004 Ecotourism Management and Development Handbook, the following factors play a decisive role in the successful organization of ecotourism activities [5]:

Basic Requirements for Ecotourism

- Little impact on natural resources of nature reserves and national parks.


- Attracting the participation of individuals, communities, ecotourism visitors, tour operators and non-governmental organizations.

- Respect local traditional culture.


- Generate sustainable and equitable income for local communities and other stakeholders, including private tour operators.

- Create financial resources for conservation work of the KBTTN.


- Educate participants about their role in conservation.


1.5. Developing ecotourism in National Parks Concept of National Parks

National Park is a very popular concept in biodiversity conservation activities. Currently, there are many different concepts: IUCN has defined National Park as a relatively large territory on land or at sea that [25]:

- It contains one or more ecosystems that have not been significantly modified by human exploitation or occupation. The plants, animals, ecological features, geomorphology and habitats of species, or natural landscapes within them are of interest to scientific research, education and recreation.

- Where management takes measures to prevent or eliminate as quickly as possible exploitation or occupation and to promote respect for ecological, morphological and landscape characteristics.

- There are allowed tourist activities to visit, under special conditions, for the purposes of research, education, recreation and admiration.

In Vietnam, national park is understood according to clause 1, article 13 of the forest management regulations issued under decision 186/2006 of the Prime Minister [7].

A national park is a natural area on land or in wetlands or islands, with a large enough area established to preserve one or more typical or representative ecosystems that are not affected or only slightly affected from the outside; to preserve endemic or endangered species.

National parks are managed and used mainly for the conservation of forests and forest ecosystems, scientific research, environmental education and ecotourism.

National parks are ideal locations for developing ecotourism activities, and ecotourism is also one of the ways to develop biodiversity conservation and economic development for local communities.

1.6. Current status of Ecotourism development


1.6.1 Current status of world ecotourism development

Ecotourism is emerging in the travel and conservation community, its origins are more evolutionary than revolutionary. The first ecotourists flocked to Yellowstone and Yasemite National Parks centuries ago. The 20th century has seen dramatic and continuous changes in nature tourism; with games attracting interest such as: hunting, fishing... until today, ecotourists have truly become more knowledgeable and developed to a higher level [17]. Currently, many countries have developed ecotourism to become a major industry bringing important revenue to the country, typically: South Africa, Tanzania,... in Africa and some other countries such as Nepal, Australia, Thailand, ...

Experience in ecotourism activities in National Parks.

* Ecotourism in Galapagos National Park [17].


The Galapagos National Park in Ecuador is not only a national park but also a world heritage site, a biosphere reserve, and now a marine ecological reserve. In terms of location, the Galapagos National Park is separated from the mainland, providing a suitable environment for adapted species such as turtles, monitor lizards, finches, giant cacti and sunflower relatives, flightless cormorants, kingfishers and many other species of animals and plants... These species carry unparalleled information about the past and the future in the world.

The Galapagos is perhaps one of the best places in the world to study the evolution of ecosystems; enjoying the ocean, coastal and inland views; where wildlife has evolved and seems to have no fear of humans is an incomparable feeling.

Unlike other national parks in Ecuador and other Latin American countries, where people may or may not live within protected areas, the Galapagos people are not allowed to live within the park. They are concentrated on about 4% of the archipelago on privately owned land. Most visitors from the mainland fly to the islands and then visit them on organized tours.

After the first ten years since welcoming visitors, the first management strategy and management support of the National Park was implemented relatively smoothly with a small number of visitors and continued to grow in the 1970s. From the initial 7,000 visitors to 12,000 in 1973, 25,000 in 1981 and nearly 42,000 in 1989. After that, the decline of the regional economy led to a reduction in the budget for ecotourism services in the Galapagos National Park. However, with effective measures and the support of international organizations such as the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, etc., the development of ecotourism here has been revived.

The traditional tour here is a week-long cruise to different tourist destinations. In recent years, Galapagos has had to accommodate an increasing number of visitors. Operators have been very flexible in organizing shorter tours, even one day, in addition to the traditional tour, to better suit different types of visitors. Overall, the activities here have brought high profits to the Galapagos National Park and the local community. There are currently 6 cruise ships, 4 ships (carrying from 34 to 90 people), 75 large motorboats and 10 sampans... In recent years, the demand for licenses to operate tourist boats here has been very high, there have been many problems in this activity, but the National Park Management Board and the Ecuadorian government have made timely adjustments to appropriately limit the number of boats operating. With $40 in park entrance fees and fees from tourism operators used to support park operations and conservation efforts in other protected areas in Ecuador, these are significant contributions that no other national parks in the world can make. Currently, the Galapagos is considered the gold mine of Ecuador.

Some experiences of developing ecotourism in Galapagos National Park:


- The National Park service activities have been carefully organized and certified for tour guides. These tour guides will accompany all tour groups, both guiding and controlling the activities of tourists that are not good for the environment.

- Most of the sightseeing is by boat, and the accommodation and food services are on the boat, which has somewhat reduced the impact on the tourist areas. The sightseeing areas are usually short and have clear boundaries. The tour itineraries are fixed and do not enter areas that have not been invaded by introduced species.

- Service vehicles operating in the National Park are strictly controlled and licensed.

- The activities of the National Park are all divided into management zones and have a strategy to manage ecotourism activities.

* DLST in Annapurna Nature Reserve [2].


Annapurna Nature Reserve, Nepal is surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world. It is an area with very different natural conditions. Due to the different climatic conditions, from subtropical to temperate, desert and dry, this area is endowed with excellent conditions for rare species of flora and fauna to thrive such as: Snow Leopard, Blue Sheep, over 100 species of orchids and one of the largest Rhododendron forests in the world. The majority of the population living here are tenant farmers, living on the natural resources available in the area and developing their own traditional management systems.

Over the past two decades, tourism activities have been deployed in this area and developed rapidly, causing the natural resources here to be exploited to the limit and the KBTN has fallen to the brink of crisis.

More than 36,000 adventurers visit Annapurna each year, to enjoy the beauty of the landscape and the uniqueness of the indigenous cultures, which has provided a major source of income for many local communities, but has also created some serious environmental problems. Deforestation for fuel, heating and accommodation, water pollution, poor waste management systems that litter roads and tourist areas, and rapid population growth.

Ecotourism is one of the major sources of foreign exchange earnings for Nepal, but it does not take into account the local people. Therefore, the negative impacts of tourism are becoming more serious.

important. In response to these needs, the Annapurna Conservation Area project emerged in 1986. The project simultaneously addressed three main aspects: nature conservation, human resource development and tourism management.

The project aims to protect the natural and cultural environment of the Annapurna region for the benefit of the region's 40,000 residents and international visitors, while raising awareness of environmental fragility.

Activities have been divided into eight groups including: forest conservation, alternative energy sources, conservation education, tourism management, community development, community health and sanitation, community management committees, and research.

The project results after 5 years of implementation, everywhere in the Annapurna region has witnessed positive changes in environmental protection, indigenous culture, the living standards of the people have been raised, tourists have a better feeling when the services are improved, on the other hand, they understand that ecotourism is not only an experience but also helps the lives of the people here, helping with conservation activities, protecting the environment.

The Annapurna Project demonstrates the need to retain economic benefits in the region, engage local people in tourism activities, and link conservation benefits with development benefits as much as possible.

1.6.2. Lessons learned from ecotourism models in national parks around the world

Through studying ecotourism activities in national parks around the world, we can draw some lessons when conducting ecotourism activities in Vietnam's national parks in general and Vu Quang National Park in particular as follows:

+ Need to change people's concept of conservation and development. Education and propaganda to raise awareness of direct or indirect users of resources to different classes.

+ It is necessary to have a suitable management mechanism, including the participation of local people according to the motto: "People know, people discuss, people do, people inspect" to be able to manage resources and tourism activities effectively. Ensure consistency between management agencies. Strictly manage the granting of construction permits and the operation of eco-tourism service facilities, avoid massive construction, land encroachment, destruction of natural landscapes and imbalance of supply and demand in the project area.

+ There needs to be appropriate policies to distribute tourism income more widely. Tourism income must be used to maintain tourism activities and develop local communities, avoiding the situation where income is concentrated in a small group, while the majority of local people do not benefit from ecotourism development.

+ There should be plans to use alternative clean energy sources such as: solar power, electricity produced from bio-gas, using bio-gas produced from livestock waste for cooking instead of wood and firewood to help protect the environment.

+ Propagating and educating environmental protection awareness in schools, local communities and tourists. Building mutual relationships between tourists and local communities and management agencies of special-use forests to protect resources and develop sustainable tourism.

+ Restore and develop local traditional occupations to serve the needs of tourists such as: souvenir production, animal husbandry, farming... Create and maintain income for local people.


1.6.3. Current status of ecotourism in Vietnam's national parks


In Vietnam today, although it is a country that is assessed to have great potential for ecotourism, the development is not commensurate with the potential. Especially in national parks and nature reserves - places considered to have a suitable environment for ecotourism development [20, 29].

Ecotourism activities often include: research and study of ecosystems; sightseeing and study of wildlife and indigenous cultures.

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