Solutions on Organization, Planning and Exploiting the Potential for Tourism Business Development

3.2.1 Solutions on organization, planning and exploitation of tourism business development potential

In some sections assessing the current tourism situation in the Northwest provinces, there were opinions about the difficulties in implementing the tourism development plan for the region. If the tourism economy in the Northwest region in the spontaneous mechanism no longer meets the requirements, but the market mechanism in the Northwest region has not yet promoted the positive aspects... In the face of that situation, how should we regulate tourism in the Northwest region to develop? There are many things that no one has done, and even less has anyone to compete with.

First of all, talking about the organization of activities in the Northwestern provinces as well as some undeveloped tourism provinces, all tourism activities are managed by the Department of Trade and Tourism through the Tourism Management Office, whose main function is State management of tourism. Tourism businesses are mostly small-scale and mainly do travel business or organize places for entertainment and real tourism. With the current state of the intellectual investment organization, it is still very far from becoming an important comprehensive economic sector, corresponding to the rich potential. Perhaps in the current conditions in the Northwestern region in general, the positive aspects of the planning mechanism are still effective, so it is necessary to focus on directing investment, reasonably assigning labor to 2 out of 3 main areas of tourism that are still vacant, and to soon form an organization to introduce, exploit, attract tour guides or create all initial support conditions for a travel business unit to be born and develop. It is also possible to merge with some main accommodation business units into a strong enough tourism enterprise, with conditions to deploy travel and entertainment business, limiting the concentration on accommodation business, leaving travel and entertainment business empty. Gradually overcome the situation of tourism resources being exploited without bringing revenue to localities in the region.

Planning is an important and fundamental solution as a basis for State management, or in other words, the organization and management of the development of all economic sectors must be based on planning. To achieve sustainable development, achieving multi-faceted efficiency in terms of economy, resources, environment and society, planning and research, forecasting and planning for tourism development must be organized and implemented to ensure the highest feasibility.

3.2.2 Resource conservation and environmental protection

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- There is a policy to create funding sources for resource restoration and environmental protection. In particular, the policy of re-allocating tourism revenue to reinvest in resource restoration and environmental protection as well as support community development is focused.

- Encourage material contributions from tourists when visiting and studying cultural values to serve the work of protecting, preserving and developing these values.

- Promote the role of the community in protecting and preserving cultural heritage by encouraging contributions from families and clans to restore traditional cultural values that are at risk of disappearing or to renovate and upgrade cultural works that are attractive to tourists.

- For both natural and human tourism resources, there needs to be coordination between the tourism industry and functional management sectors such as culture, environmental resources, etc., and local authorities at all levels to develop and promulgate specific regulations on the protection, restoration and development of resources. In these regulations, special attention should be paid to the rights and responsibilities of local communities because in many cases, this is considered an important factor that determines the success of efforts to preserve, restore and develop tourism resources.

- From the general regulations, each tourist area and destination needs to come up with specific regulations and measures to minimize the phenomenon of overload, causing negative impacts on resources and the environment in the tourist area and destination, especially in environmentally sensitive areas with high biodiversity with many wild animals such as Hang Kia - Pa Co, Thuong Tien, Pu Luong Nature Reserves... (Hoa Binh), or areas sensitive to the human environment such as ethnic minority villages of Lac, Pom Coong, Lung Van, Giang Mo... (Hoa Binh); Cat Cat, Ta Phin, Giang Ta Chai, Lao Chai, Ta Van villages... (Lao Cai) Ecotourism experts recommend: at ecotourism sites, especially sites with high biodiversity and sensitive to the environment, each group of visitors should not exceed 20 people, and no more than three groups of visitors should stop at one site per hour...

- Develop, promulgate and strictly control the implementation of regulations prohibiting hunting and exploitation of rare animals and plants to make specialty dishes and souvenirs to sell to customers.

- In the process of considering granting investment licenses for the construction and development of tourist areas and destinations, especially projects in areas with high biodiversity, it is necessary to focus on considering solutions/measures to limit the impact of tourism activities on resources and biodiversity. Resolutely eliminate tourism development options that risk harming biodiversity.

- For the conservation, restoration and development of tourism resources, especially cultural tourism resources, it is necessary to follow a process to achieve the highest efficiency. It is necessary to develop this process with some basic contents including: determining the purpose of restoration, scope, restoration objects, specific restoration contents, determining the investor and investment capital as well as the implementing entity. For each type of resource, each specific tourist area and spot, this process can be adjusted to suit its own characteristics.

3.2.3 Community solutions

To reduce the pressure on local communities on resources and the environment due to exploitation for their livelihoods, and to compensate for the disadvantages that communities may suffer when developing tourism projects, it is necessary to create opportunities for communities to actively participate in tourism activities. Proposed solutions include:

+ Create conditions for local communities to participate in the process of developing tourism planning:

- Based on the perception of tourism development, the local community will decide whether or not to support the implementation of the projects. However, in order for the project planning options to be highly feasible and suitable to the characteristics of the locality, it is necessary to have the participation of the community in the discussion process to choose the best option, meeting the expectations of the people. Ensuring the participation of the community in the construction process will promote the role of the community in the planning implementation process, ensure the rationality of the organization of the tourism territory and ensure sustainable tourism development.

- During the planning survey process, it is necessary to have the direct participation of local community representatives to obtain the most complete and realistic information as a basis for research and proposal of tourism development planning options.

- It is necessary to consult the community before choosing a tourism development plan to ensure that the proposed plan does not negatively affect the lives of local people.

- Encourage the community to propose tourism development initiatives for experts to absorb and add to planning options.

+ The community is the one who understands best the nature and environment where they live, so it is necessary to create conditions for them to participate in monitoring the implementation of tourism development planning. This will help the community

protect their own interests, while ensuring sustainable tourism development on their land. To ensure the effective implementation of this solution, local community representatives are required to be part of the Tourism Development Project Management Board. Conflicts arising during tourism development activities need to be resolved openly with the participation of local community representatives.

+ In the proposed tourism territorial organization, most of the province's important tourism routes have included tourist attractions with community participation. Therefore, in the process of developing specific tourism programs (tours), priority should be given to tourism programs that can bring jobs and benefits to the local community, such as tourism programs in which people can participate in tour guide services, perform traditional art forms, produce, perform and sell traditional handicrafts, welcome guests to stay at home (home-stay)... This solution not only helps create jobs for the local community but also stimulates on-site exports, creates attraction and trust for tourists, and maintains the traditional crafts of the local people.

3.2.4 Solutions on propaganda and education

Only with a correct and complete awareness of tourism potential can we have the consciousness and determination to protect and exploit tourism potential. The strengths and tourism potential of the Northwest region presented above are natural landscapes, ecological environment, ethnic cultural identity, historical and cultural relics. Protecting natural landscapes, ecological environment, preserving and promoting ethnic cultural identity is the work of the entire Party Committee and people of the ethnic groups in the Northwest region, not just the task of the staff in the tourism industry. To complete that task is not only a matter of capital, but also requires a very high sense of responsibility from each citizen. If we do not realize that this invaluable resource is an opportunity to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty,

If we do not realize that each tourist coming to the Northwest region not only creates direct jobs for workers in the tourism industry but also creates indirect jobs for many workers outside the tourism industry. If we do not attach social benefits, the tourism industry cannot have the opportunity to develop. The conditions for developing tourism in the Northwest region and the multifaceted benefits it brings need to be thoroughly understood and fully recognized by the people.

Propaganda and education must become a regular task of Party organizations, mass organizations, and social organizations in schools and residential areas. It is necessary to build specific models and examples of appropriate propaganda and education, combining propaganda and education on tourism development with propaganda and education on sedentarization, building cultural villages, building farm economies, implementing hunger eradication and poverty reduction programs, implementing nature conservation programs, implementing land allocation programs, forest allocation, forest protection, etc. It is necessary to propagate and educate, build examples of cultural villages, preserve good customs, promote traditions of friendliness, hospitality, village arts, produce brocade products, and participate in the tourism economy.

3.2.5 Human resource training and development

The quantity and quality of human resources play an important role in the development and sustainable development of local tourism. Based on the current situation of tourism labor in the Northwest region, the orientations of territorial organization as well as the development targets of the Northwest tourism industry in the coming time, the proposed solutions for training and developing tourism human resources in the Northwest region include:

+ Investigate and comprehensively evaluate the quality of the current workforce, the labor needs of tourism management and business units in the provinces in the region as well as the need for retraining and new training of human resources.

That facility has a plan to train and retrain human resources to ensure they are sufficient and meet labor needs.

+ Investment in training and development of tourism human resources can be carried out according to the motto: "The State and the people work together". However, in the current period, training to improve the professional qualifications of workers, especially training the workforce who are children of indigenous communities, needs financial support as well as experts from the tourism industry.

+ There are preferential salary policies for highly skilled and qualified workers who voluntarily work in the province's tourist areas, especially tourist areas in remote areas in the Northwest localities.

+ In some stages, to ensure a qualified, capable and dedicated successor force, it is necessary to have a plan to train a new workforce with the target being students with high academic achievements, capable of completing vocational training programs at home and abroad, wishing to work and contribute to the development of tourism in the homeland. In each specific case, it is possible to consider granting scholarships with a commitment to work term...

+ Open training courses on tourism so that the community can participate in professional activities such as tour guides (especially in eco-tourism activities), cooking (especially local specialties)...

+ Regularly open foreign language training classes for the local community to ensure service quality. The reality shows that the task of training to improve foreign language proficiency and enhance the ability to communicate with tourists in foreign languages for workers here is quite heavy, and needs to be carried out over a long period of time and continuously to improve. Foreign language training courses are not only prioritized in terms of time but also need to be carefully researched and arranged according to the level of each type of subject, according to job requirements...

The above solutions need to be studied and applied synchronously to effectively exploit the tourism resources of the Northwest region according to the orientation of territorial organization, ensuring the achievement of the goal of sustainable development of tourism in the Northwest region in general.

3.2.6 Closely link tourism with other industries and between localities

The characteristics of tourism activities are directly related to all sectors such as national security, defense, diplomacy, culture, health, agricultural education and rural development, science and technology, industry and handicrafts, transportation - construction, propaganda agencies... However, for tourism in the Northwestern provinces, the potential strengths to focus on exploiting are natural landscapes, ecological environment and national cultural identity, as well as natural, economic and social characteristics with a large area, long borders, and many ethnic groups living there. Therefore, the coordination of tourism activities with sectors should not be formal or spread out, but should focus on specific, key work programs that are truly meaningful in promoting the development of the tourism industry. First of all, we must mention the sectors of culture - information, agriculture and rural development, science, technology and environment, police, the value of typical tourism products of the Northwest region depends greatly on the coordination of work between tourism and these sectors. For example: The protection, enrichment of natural landscapes and ecological environment, conservation, restoration and promotion of good traditional cultural customs and practices, raising the value of tourism products, especially in museums and Son La prisons, it is necessary to supplement and adjust the introduction and explanation content to make it more inspiring, and find suitable forms to vividly recreate historical events. Because Son La prison has had the mark of the General Secretary, President and many senior leaders of the Party and State. Or at Tham Ke cave, there is a stele of Le Thai Tong, an important historical event nearly 600 years ago, a good poem carved on the cliff cannot be

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