Solutions Group To Travel Companies

The general objective of a community and of a particular activity is to raise people's awareness and improve their material and spiritual life.

The local community is the core of developing a sustainable ecotourism model. Currently, the communities living in the National Park area still have to rely on the natural environment in their daily lives. Tourism activities initially generate income for a part of the people, but not much,... People have become aware of the value of forests and natural resources, but are not yet aware and do not have much understanding of forest conservation and protection as well as ecotourism activities.

4. . . . Main content of the solutions

Solutions focus on educating environmental awareness and training to foster capacity for people to participate in tourism activities to earn additional income, which can gradually become the main income for a part of local residents.

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Environmental education: To conduct environmental education for the local community, a specific program is needed with the participation and consultation of the community itself. The National Park Management Board coordinates with local authorities and other functional agencies to organize propaganda, education and training for the people:

- Raising awareness of the environment, natural resources and tourism development

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- Specific measures to exploit resources reasonably, preserve and protect

natural environment of the national park in a sustainable direction.

- Improve communication and dissemination capacity about environment and environmental protection

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- Establish rules and regulations in preserving and protecting the environment.

Raising environmental awareness must clarify to local communities the value and importance of the environment and natural resources. In addition to clarifying the importance, it is also necessary to disseminate and help people in the community.

Knowing and understanding the State's legal regulations on natural resource protection and forest protection is also a mandatory content in the program.

To create sustainability in environmental education, this work must be carried out by local people, especially those who are prestigious, experienced and have a voice in the community. Moreover, in the long-standing residential communities within the National Park, cultural and traditional values are closely linked to the nature of lakes, river systems, streams, caves and forests. The dissemination of these values from the elderly to the younger generation also plays a great role in raising environmental awareness and protecting the environment for life itself. For that reason, capacity building in environmental communication and propaganda and environmental protection is extremely important.

Environmental education must also be based on the interaction and active participation of local communities in educational activities such as developing rules and regulations for environmental protection in accordance with actual conditions in the community as well as regulations and laws of the State.

Capacity building training: Capacity building activities aim to provide people in the community with knowledge so that they can actively and effectively participate in tourism activities, thereby earning additional income to improve their material and spiritual lives. This income can help them reduce their dependence on forests in their daily lives. Based on the actual situation in the community, there should be training programs on:

- Basic knowledge and skills in processing clean, hygienic and safe food.

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- Basic English communication for tourism activities

- Developing tourism products and tourism services.

- Organize home stay activities for tourists

- Basic skills in guiding tourists etc.

To ensure the feasibility and sustainability of environmental education and capacity building programs, it is necessary to start with identifying needs, developing programs and learning materials, training source trainers, and conducting environmental education training in the community.

To implement the objectives and contents of the solution, it requires the local community and the National Park Management Board to have a unified implementation mechanism. For local communities seeking participation, they can choose from a range of levels of participation, including:

- Engage in resource protection and leasing for development while simply monitoring impacts;

- Work regularly, part-time or full-time for tour operators;

- Provide services to the National Park such as food processing, guiding, transportation, accommodation, or a combination of the above;

- Establish joint ventures with NPs and tourism companies, where the community provides most of the services while the partners manage marketing, logistics and possibly bilingual guides, and

- Operates as an independent community-based program.

4.3.4. Solution group for travel companies

4. .4.1. Objectives of the solution

- Raise awareness and responsibility of tourism companies operating in the area or sending visitors to the National Park for ecotourism.

- Increase tourist spending, improve the quality of travel services and reduce the impact of visitors to the National Park.

- Identify the basic characteristics of eco-tourists, increase exploitation of the eco-tourist market (this is the development trend of tourism.)

4. .4.2. Basis of the solution

Travel agencies are the ones who gather, promote and attract tourists to the national parks. In the tourism programs of travel agencies, national parks and their ecotourism resources are one of the important destinations, especially in the current tourism trend towards nature. Therefore, when developing plans, determining routes, and developing regulations on tourism exploitation, it is necessary to consult with travel agencies.

Travel agencies play an important role in selecting the source of visitors and controlling the number of visitors to the National Park. At the same time, travel agencies always want to have new products and services to meet the needs of responsible and high-spending tourists.

4. .4. . Main content of the solution

- Research tourism products and services, distribution channels and the level of ecosystem exploitation in tourism activities of travel companies in the area or sending visitors to the National Park area.

- Organize workshops to raise awareness and collect feedback from companies on sustainable tourism development.

- Organize training courses on skills, tour guiding techniques, and knowledge about the ecosystem at the National Park for employees of tourism companies cooperating in developing sustainable ecotourism at the National Park.

- Cooperate with travel companies in building and promoting authentic eco-tourism products.

- Travel companies are responsible for coordinating with the National Park Management Board and local communities in building ecotourism destinations in the National Park. Travel companies provide orientation and characteristics of ecotourists to help build appropriate tourist routes in the National Park.

- Travel companies need to regularly research or cooperate with tourism organizations to build a general information board about eco-tourists by region and period in order to build appropriate business strategies. For example,

For example, box 4.2 describes the characteristics of ecotourists developed by the International Ecotourism Community based on a survey of tourists in the North in 199 .

Box 4.2 Characteristics of ecotourists.

The International Ecotourism Community has developed a general ecotourism information sheet based on a 1998 survey of North American ecotourists:

- Age: 35-54 years old, however the age of tourists varies according to the type of tourism activity and other factors such as cost..

- Gender : 50% women and 50% men, however there are clear gender differences in some specific activities.

- Education : 82% are college or university graduates. However, there is a shift in interest in ecotourism between the highly educated and the less educated, reflecting the expansion of ecotourism into mainstream markets.

- General information about the household: There is no difference between regular tourists and eco-tourists.**

- Group size: The majority (60%) of eco-tourists interviewed said they prefer to travel in couples, only 15% prefer to travel with family and 13% prefer to travel alone.

- Length of tour: A large proportion of ecotourists (50%) believe that tours should last from 8 to 14 days.

- Spending: Ecotourists tend to spend more than regular tourists, with a large proportion of ecotourists (26%) saying they are willing to spend

$1,001-$1,500 per trip.

- Important issues of a tour: The 3 most important issues for ecotourists are: (1) setting up a wilderness area, (2) observing wildlife, and (3) hiking/walking. Meanwhile, the next 2 biggest motivations for tourists to participate in ecotourism activities are: (1) enjoying

enjoy natural scenery and (2) new experiences/ new places.

** Ecotourist = Tourist who has experienced at least one ecotourism tour. Ecotourism is defined in this study as nature/adventure/cultural oriented tourism.

(Ecotourist Market Profile completed by HLA and ARA consulting firms; The International Ecotourism Society, 1998)[59]

4.3.5. Solution group for tourists

4. . .1. Objective of the solution

- Raise tourists' awareness of sustainable ecotourism models in the National Park.

- There are criteria to help visitors choose authentic eco-tourism programs when visiting areas in the National Park.

- Increase guest contributions to efforts to conserve natural resources and cultural values.

- Improve environmental education and experience for tourists after each trip.

4. . .2. Basis of the solution

Tourists coming to the National Park not only visit the natural landscapes but also come to enjoy the cool, refreshing air after stressful working hours or during holidays. In part, they want to learn about the role and significance of forests, trees and animals, the importance of conservation work, thereby becoming more aware and responsible for natural resources. In addition, when there are tourism activities, infrastructure and facilities are improved and upgraded and tourists will enjoy some of the services brought by tourism activities.

National parks have great potential to provide the above mentioned experiences but do not have adequate methods to guide visitors to have the right behavior towards ecotourism activities.

Visitors who want a true ecotourism experience do not have many opportunities to choose companies that provide standard ecotourism products.

4. . . . Main content of the solution

Organize community activities such as seminars, talks, website introductions... about ecotourism and sustainable development in general and sustainable ecotourism models in particular in national parks with very different characteristics of national parks to attract the attention of existing and potential tourists.

Build websites, advertising publications, use travel companies to promote to tourists. Create a list of companies and standard eco-tourism products so that tourists can learn and choose companies that provide eco-tourism products in a truly sustainable direction and with suitable quality.

Box 4.3. Characteristics of an ecotourism destination

- Low density development: natural areas dominate, built landscapes do not dominate.

- Demonstrate that tourism does not harm natural systems such as canals, coastal areas, wetlands and wildlife areas.

- Develop small community businesses, including food stalls and other types of craft businesses owned by the local community.

- Many outdoor recreation areas are designed to protect vulnerable resources, including bike paths or trails shared by locals and tourists.

- Develop guest houses, hotels, restaurants and other locally owned businesses that provide friendly service with hospitable and dynamic staff.

- Organize a series of local festivals and events that demonstrate pride in the local community, natural environment and cultural heritage.

- Clean up public facilities used by tourists and the community.

local facilities such as public bathrooms or public toilets.

- Organize friendly interactions between local communities and tourists at natural meeting places such as local shops or beach benches.

(Megan Epler Wood,2002)[59]

4.4. Some recommendations

4.4.1. For State management agencies

- The management level of the National Park is the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, allowing the exploitation and expansion of business functions of the ecotourism potential in the National Parks.

- When planning ecotourism, there needs to be coordination between experts in ecology, conservation, tourism planners and local officials to avoid indiscriminate ecotourism development and ensure that ecotourism activities do not violate principles or go beyond permitted limits.

- There are separate policy mechanisms for tourism activities in national parks because of the characteristics of this type of tourism.

- There are preferential policies to encourage investment in ecotourism development, especially the transport infrastructure system for national parks and nature reserves because most of these areas are located far from the centers, so transportation is not convenient.

- Combine DLST programs with other development programs.

4.4.2. For national parks

- To effectively exploit the potential of ecotourism, national parks should establish a specialized department to manage business operations, specifically a company specializing in tourism business under the national park.

- There must be a detailed and comprehensive tourism plan within the managed park to have a basis for organizing reasonable ecotourism activities.

- National parks need to send people for training at highly developed ecotourism facilities (domestic and foreign). This source of human resources will play a key role in the development of ecotourism in the coming time. Need

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