Factors Affecting International Tourist Attraction Activities

1.1.3. Factors affecting international tourist attraction activities

Factors affecting a locality's international tourist attraction are factors that increase or decrease the effectiveness of this activity. Previous studies by Frechtling (1996), Kosnan and Ismail (2012), ... divide these factors into demand-related factors, supply-related factors and a number of other hindering factors.

a) Demand-related factors: Demand-related factors are factors originating from the tourist side. These are factors related to the private life or the tourist's usual residence that promote or hinder the tourist's decision to travel. Some previous studies such as the study by Kosnan and Ismail (2012) on factors affecting income from international tourists to Malaysia, the study by Ibrahim (2011) on factors affecting the number of international tourists to Egypt, etc. mainly focused on quantifying demand-related factors to determine the significance of these factors for international tourism in the research locality. These are objective factors that the locality wishing to attract international tourists cannot influence; specifically:

- Population of the tourist's permanent residence: According to Nguyen Quoc Tien (2015), Kosnan and Ismail pointed out that the larger the country's population, the more tourists will come to Malaysia. Therefore, a country's international tourist attraction activities are often directed towards markets with large populations such as the United States, Russia, China, etc.

- Per capita income (GDP/person): According to the General Statistics Office, a country's per capita income is often measured by the gross domestic product per capita (GDP). This is an indicator that reflects the average material standard of living of a country's citizens. A high material standard of living is an important condition for establishing people's need to travel because only when their income is high enough will they have the need to travel and pay for their travel expenses such as airfare, train fare, accommodation, sightseeing, shopping, etc.

- According to Nguyen Hong Giap (2002), free time is a factor that promotes people's need to travel because only when there is time can people do something.

travel. The higher the number of working days, the less free time people have and therefore the demand for tourism also decreases and activities to attract tourists from countries with high working days are also difficult to be effective because people do not have much time to travel even though they really want to.

- Nguyen Van Dinh and colleagues (2004) believe that the more educated and culturally advanced people are, the higher their demand for travel. Accordingly, for families with university-level education, the rate of travel is 85%; meanwhile, only 50% of families with families with less than high school education travel.

b) Factors related to supply:

Supply-related factors are factors directly related to the locality that have the effect of pulling and attracting the travel demand of international tourists to their locality.

Table 1.2: Summary of factors related to supply

Characteristic
1.	Group 1: Factors of resources, people, culture, nature
	Tourism human resources (labor force in the tourism industry).	Local tourism resources (natural tourism resources and human tourism resources).
2.	Group 2: Factors of business environment and infrastructure for tourism
	Transport infrastructure (including road transport works and networks.	Telecommunications and information technology infrastructure (communication systems, Internet, satellite television, etc.).	Tourism infrastructure (ensuring local capacity when tourists arrive) to travel).	Price (reasonable and satisfying to tourists).

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Source: Author's synthesis.

According to the law of demand, especially when international tourism is considered a luxury good, the elasticity of demand compared to price will be large, when prices in a country increase, the demand for tourism in that country will decrease. Any activity to attract international tourists will not be difficult to promote if the prices of goods and services in the destination country increase. Many indicators have been used to represent

represents the prices of goods and services in a locality. One of the commonly used indicators is the exchange rate of the local currency against the US dollar (Khadaroo and Seetanah, 2007).

1.1.4. Factors affecting tourist attraction activities

1.1.4.1. Tourism resources

According to Buchvakop - Bulgarian geographer "Tourism resources include components and different combinations of natural landscapes and human landscapes that can be used for tourism services and satisfy the needs of tourists for rest or sightseeing". According to the Law on Tourism of Vietnam (2017), tourism resources "are natural landscapes , natural elements and cultural values that serve as the basis for forming tourism products, tourist areas and tourist attractions to meet tourism needs. Tourism resources include natural tourism resources and cultural tourism resources ".

According to Nguyen Minh Tue (1999), tourism resources are divided into two types: natural tourism resources and human tourism resources.

a) Natural tourism resources

* Terrain: For tourism activities, the terrain of an area plays an important role in attracting visitors.

The plain terrain is relatively monotonous in terms of scenery but is a place where human tourism resources are concentrated, especially historical and cultural relics and a place where human civilizations converge.

Hilly terrain often creates open spaces, where the population is relatively dense, and is home to unique archaeological sites and cultural and historical resources, creating the potential for the development of thematic sightseeing tourism.

Mountainous terrain has the greatest significance for tourism development, especially the area is favorable for organizing winter tourism and sports tourism such as mountain climbing, eco-tourism, etc. In addition to the above basic terrain types, special terrain types such as Karst terrain and coastal terrain are very attractive to tourists.

* Climate:

Places with moderate climate are often favored by tourists. For example, tourists tend to travel and visit in sunny, rainless conditions; places with high average hours of sunshine per day are often preferred and have strong attraction for tourists such as the seas of Hawaii, the Caribbean, Vung Tau, Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet, etc.; on the contrary, tourists in the North often choose places with warm sunshine and high temperatures that they cannot bear. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to special weather phenomena that affect tourism activities such as heat waves caused by El Nino or floods during the rainy season that affect tourists' travel and sightseeing. Climate also affects the seasonality of tourism (Nguyen Minh Tue, 1999).

* Water resources: In tourism activities, it is necessary to pay attention to protecting the environment, water resources, and aquatic flora and fauna. Sea tourism has favorable conditions thanks to the mild coastal climate that allows for long-term rest, thanks to the sandy beaches that allow for swimming, sunbathing, and fresh air. In addition, water is also essential for daily living needs. Therefore, when organizing tourism activities or building tourist and entertainment spots in arid and semi-arid areas as well as in subtropical and temperate climates, it is necessary to pay attention to this issue to avoid water scarcity, affecting tourism activities. Beaches are suitable for sea resort tourism and sports activities. The river and lake system is favorable for the development of river tourism. Seas and rivers provide valuable creatures for sightseeing, and are also an important source of food that attracts tourists and has local tourism export value (seafood such as lobster, blood cockles, oysters, and tuna). In addition, mineral water is also a valuable water resource for mineral bath tourism, relaxation, and medical treatment (Nguyen Minh Tue, 1999).

* Flora and fauna:

Nowadays, in addition to some traditional forms such as sightseeing, historical and cultural relics, there is a form of tourism to nature reserves where there are very rich species of flora and fauna. However, not all flora and fauna resources are the objects of tourism and sightseeing; to serve the

For different tourism purposes, the following criteria have been set: Criteria for sightseeing and tourism purposes (vegetation, species typical of each area, endemic species, rare species, etc.); criteria for hunting and sports tourism; criteria for scientific research tourism purposes (Nguyen Minh Tue, 2009).

National parks and nature reserves are of great value for ecotourism and adventure tourism. For tourists, flora and fauna that are not found in their country are often very attractive. Tourists from temperate countries love to visit tropical rainforests to admire climbing plants, large and tall trees; and to see animals such as elephants, tigers, giraffes, and rhinos. Notably, Vietnam has a coastline of more than 3,200 km, more than 3,000 islands with white sand beaches, beautiful bays, and a diverse and rich marine flora and fauna (coral reefs, fresh seafood such as fish, shrimp, squid, etc.) and is also the basis for developing resort, sightseeing, and culinary tourism (Nguyen Minh Tue, 2009).

b) Human tourism resources

Tran Duc Thanh and Tran Thi Mai Hoa (2017), the group of human tourism resources created by humans, or in other words, it is an object and phenomenon created artificially; therefore, human tourism resources have very different characteristics compared to natural tourism resources. Human resources can be divided into the following types:

 Cultural heritages: Considered one of the important tourism resources, a resource for developing and expanding tourism activities.

Currently, the United Nations has issued the International Convention on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage; Vietnam has also joined this Convention. Every year, the World Heritage Council (WHC) meets once in December to review and recognize heritage. Vietnam currently has many recognized world heritages, such as: Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (Quang Binh), Dong Van Stone Plateau (Ha Giang); Hue Monuments Complex, Hoi An Ancient Town (Quang Nam), My Son Sanctuary (Quang Nam), Thang Long Imperial Citadel (Hanoi), Ho Dynasty Citadel (Thanh Hoa); Hue Royal Court Music, Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space, Quan Ho Folk Songs; Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex (Ninh Binh), etc.

In Vietnam, in addition to the tangible and intangible cultural heritages recognized by WHC; according to the Law on Cultural Heritage (2009), Vietnam has recognized 165 national intangible cultural heritages - as of June 2016 (Phu Yen alone was recognized with 03 national intangible heritages including: Bai Choi Art, Cau Ngu Festival, Double Drum - Three Gong - Five Gong Performance Art).

According to Tran Duc Thanh and Tran Thi Mai Hoa (2017), historical - cultural relics are "specific, objective physical spaces that contain typical historical values, created by collectives or individuals in history" and are divided into the following types: Archaeological cultural relics; Historical relics; Cultural and artistic relics; Types of scenic spots.

It is also possible to classify according to the special historical relics associated with the common culture of mankind. It is not by chance that countries such as Egypt (Pyramids), Greece (Delph - the famous archaeological site of Acropolis), India (Ta Mahal Temple), China (Great Wall) ... with famous historical works from ancient times attract a large number of international tourists; relics with special historical value, this type is not very numerous and is often only of interest to experts in the same field.

In addition, museums are places to preserve national cultural assets, impart knowledge, and revive traditional quintessence. Article 47, Law on Cultural Heritage (2009): “ Museums are places to preserve and display collections of natural and social history to serve the needs of research, education and sightseeing ” - museums themselves are also places that attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists. Museums in our country in particular and museums in the world in general such as the Royal Museum (UK), the Louvre Museum (France), the Kremlin Palace Museum (Russia), the Palace Museum (China) ... are always favorite destinations for tourists.

Festivals: Every era, every nation and every season has festivals. Festivals are community cultural activities taking place in residential areas at a specific time and space to recall historical events, historical figures or a legend, and at the same time are an opportunity to understand the cultural behavior of humans towards sacred nature and humans towards society. Festivals have

Jellyfish attract tourists no less than historical and cultural relics. Festivals have two parts: the ritual part and the festival part. Festivals are often held at historical and cultural relics. That allows for better exploitation of both the relic and the festival for tourism purposes.

Table 1.3: Summary of some festival forms

Festival form	Characteristic	For example
1.	Celebration of life events	Associated with childbirth, initiation, marriage... and attracts a lot of tourists to visit.	Coming of Age Day in Japan; Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in Oaxaca City, southeastern Mexico; New Rice Festival of the Central Highlands
2.	"Recovery" Festival	Reviving values and memories of a past or a culture that was once lost	Viking Festival in Poland commemorates elite Viking warriors; Court music performance art Hue…
3.	Festival simulates a sacrifice	Has a theatrical aspect and a stately beauty	Peru's Mysterious Sun God Festival; Central Highlands Elephant Racing Festival; King Worship Hung…
4.	Festival of arrangement and education	A solemn, ceremonial occasion to commemorate, by appropriate symbols, a convention or contract between a people or an event that gave birth to a Current State	Celebrating national victory days; National days of countries…

Source: Tran Duc Thanh and Tran Thi Mai Hoa (2017), author's synthesis.

 Tourism objects associated with ethnology: According to Nguyen Minh Tue (1999), each ethnic group has its own living conditions, cultural characteristics, customs, and production activities with its own nuances. And when people travel, they are looking for "new emotions" that their homeland does not have. Those strange emotions are the customs of residence, eating and living habits, ancient architecture, ethnic costumes, etc. Vietnam with 54 ethnic groups still retains the identity of each region. For example, when tourists come to the Central Highlands, about enjoying

Cultural landscapes of the Central Highlands can also be visited, learning about the lives of ethnic groups such as the Ede, Monong, participating in the Buffalo Stabbing Festival, visiting the Rong house, drinking rice wine, dancing gongs with ethnic people, etc. In addition, our country also has a valuable architecture and is arranged according to the feng shui theory of Eastern philosophy, many religious architectures (including Cham-pa architecture) have attractive values for tourists.

 Cultural, sports and other cognitive activities:

According to Tran Duc Thanh and Tran Thi Mai Hoa (2017), cultural objects also attract tourists for sightseeing and research purposes. These are centers of scientific institutes, universities, large and famous libraries, cities with art exhibitions, centers that regularly organize music, theater, film festivals, international sports competitions, ballet performances, beauty contests, etc.

In addition, the economic achievements of the country or region also have a special attraction for the majority of tourists. Many cities become centers for exhibitions of economic achievements, science and technology and fairs such as Leipzig (Germany), Moscow Fair (Russia), Motorcycle and motorbike exhibitions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City... attracting many participants, including tourists.

 Customs:

Tran Duc Thanh and Tran Thi Mai Hoa (2017) believe that customs are the lifestyle of a community that is formed in the historical process and stabilized into a habit, recognized and voluntarily implemented by the community, passed down from generation to generation, creating a relatively unified community. Customs depend not only on national culture but also on each community; expressed through the way of organizing funerals, weddings, cuisine, traditions of respecting the elderly, "respecting teachers", "remembering the source of water when drinking"...

 Behavioral culture:

It is the attitude and behavior of communication between people, with the social community and with the natural environment. Behaviors - the system of interactive relationships between the subject and the environment are formed and regulated by the regional environment (environment) itself.

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