The Necessity of Community Participation in Tourism Activities

The ministerial-level scientific topic: "Research on building island tourism products in the Northern tourist region" [23] has systematized theoretical issues on tourism products, assessed the current status and development orientation of island tourism products in the Northern tourist region.

Thus, it can be seen that research works on Van Don island district have systematized the potential for tourism development as well as provided sustainable development orientations for the area; however, most of the works have not mentioned the possibility of developing community-based tourism in this area, so assessing resources and proposing a model for developing community-based tourism is currently a new, topical and really necessary issue.

From the history of research on the topic, some observations can be drawn:

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a) Regarding the issue of developing community-based ecotourism

- The practical theory and development of ecotourism are of interest to many scientists and organizations both domestically and internationally. These are useful scientific works for application in research on the development of community-based ecotourism.

- In the country, research topics on community-based tourism are still few, mainly in the form of scientific reports.

- In particular, up to now there have been no thorough and comprehensive research topics on resources for developing community-based tourism in general as well as research and evaluation of those resources based on geography in particular in the Northeast region of Vietnam.

b) Regarding the issue of comprehensive assessment of natural resources and resources serving tourism development

From some of the above research works, it can be seen that tourism is an economic activity with its own characteristics, so the evaluation of the territory for tourism also has many unique characteristics, which are:

- TNDL assessment has been shown in many aspects, the assessment territory ranges from very large to very narrow. Most research topics only focus on assessing PTDL potential.

- Evaluating tourism is a rather complicated task, currently there is no consensus on the concept, method, and evaluation criteria. Evaluating tourism has a very high qualitative character. Some criteria are often built based on the qualitative feelings of either tourism managers or tourists, thus having a high subjective element.

- Most of the assessments for tourism stop at the general assessment level for the entire research territory, do not clearly indicate the favorable space for tourism development, and do not build a map of the differentiation of favorable levels for tourism. Assessment of TNDL for LHDL development receives little attention.

Some works evaluate natural components such as terrain, climate, forest vegetation, etc. separately, but neglect the comprehensive assessment of nature. On the contrary, there are works that evaluate nature comprehensively but pay little attention to evaluating the separate components of nature.

- Using GIS in evaluating tourism resources has been initially mentioned but the level of evaluation is still sketchy.

Up to now, the evaluation method by scoring each evaluation factor, calculating the total score or cumulative score is still the appropriate method for tourism evaluation.

c) For the Northeastern Region of Vietnam and two selected research sites

The projects have not yet provided specific directions for spatial development, product development, and ecotourism or community-based tourism models to help local communities in these areas understand and actively participate in tourism activities to develop the economy and society most effectively.

Therefore, the study of developing community-based ecotourism in the Northeast region of Vietnam based on geography is a new and necessary research direction to help the Northeast region identify the strengths of the region to develop community-based ecotourism, thereby developing the economy and society in a sustainable direction.

1.2. Some general issues related to the thesis

1.2.1. Basic concepts

1.2.1.1. Tourism

Tourism is understood as a vacation or a trip, the purpose of tourism is to serve the needs of understanding, entertainment, recreation, and health improvement of tourists on the basis of changing the living environment, enjoying and integrating with the beauty of nature and people. In the current trend, tourism is defined to include contents related to special forms of migration, ways of using time at the destination and related socio-economic activities. There are many different concepts of tourism:

According to Mathieson and Wall , “Tourism is the temporary movement of people to places outside their usual areas of residence and work, the

activities carried out during their stay in those places and the facilities created to satisfy their needs”. [ Excerpt 72 ].

According to the United Nations (1963), tourism is defined as follows : "Tourism is the sum of relationships, phenomena and economic activities arising from the travel and stay of individuals or groups outside their usual place of residence or outside their country for peaceful purposes. The place they go to stay is not their place of work".

According to Vietnam's tourism law (2005) : "Tourism is a human activity outside of one's regular residence to satisfy the needs of sightseeing, entertainment, and relaxation within a certain period of time." [67]

From the above perspectives and definitions, it is shown that the concept of tourism contains the following basic contents:

- Is the temporary movement and residence outside the usual place of residence during the free time of tourists to satisfy their diverse needs.

- Along with the purpose of tourism is the consumption of natural, economic, cultural and service values at the destination of tourists.

- Is a synthesis of relationships, phenomena and economic activities related to tourists.

Thus, HĐDL is related to many natural and socio-economic components.

1.2.1.2. Ecotourism

According to the Vietnam Tourism Law (2005), ecotourism is defined as: "Ecotourism is a form of tourism based on nature, associated with local cultural identity with community participation for sustainable development" .

The main typical activities of ecotourism include: Walking (on land), diving (underwater) to approach and observe specific ecosystems; Observing and taking photos of rare and endemic flora and fauna, unique landscapes, and indigenous cultural activities; Listening to explanations, exchanging with tour guides and the community about natural values and indigenous culture; Accommodation.

It can be seen that ecotourism is considered as tourism that chooses the positive aspects of some types of tourism, which is a combination of both nature tourism and adventure tourism and includes elements in sustainable tourism such as: high educational value, supporting conservation and caring for the community, with active participation of the local community.

1.2.1.3. Community in tourism

According to Vietnam Tourism Law (2005): Communities are groups of people gathered in many different forms such as by age, occupation, bloodline, geographical area, organization, interests, etc. [ 67] .

The formation of a community is often based on the following factors: territory, economy and culture. The concept of community includes the following factors: close personal relationships with others; emotional connections; willingness to sacrifice for values considered noble by the group; and a sense of solidarity among all members of the group.

A community is a group of people living in a certain area. They have economic activities to ensure material things and create community cohesion. This is an important factor to help a community develop strongly.

Each community has its own unique cultural characteristics, formed during the development process of that community. These are customs, conventions, religious beliefs, etc., passed down from generation to generation.

In tourism, communities are often defined by geographical distribution. According to Sproule (1996) a community is a group of people, usually living in the same geographical area, who identify themselves as belonging to the same group. Members of a community are usually related by blood or marriage. They may all belong to the same religious, political, class or caste group. Apart from common characteristics, a community is a complex and heterogeneous entity. Within the same community, there are rich and poor, new immigrants and indigenous people, landowners and landless people. The differentiation within a community leads to different levels of participation and benefit of members within a community in community development programs and projects, thus posing conflicts within the community [ 120, p.29. ].

1.2.1.4. Community tourism

The concept of Community Based Tourism (CBT) has been around since the early 20th century and there are many different ways of looking at and understanding this concept. Concepts and definitions vary depending on the authors, geographical areas, or specific project studies. However, there are still some common principles such as sustainability, participation and benefits of the local community. The common definition of CBT is:

Nicole Hausle and Wolfgang Strasdas (2009) stated that “CBD is a type of tourism in which local people are mainly responsible for developing and managing it. The economic benefits from tourism will remain in the local economy” . In this definition, Nicole and Wolfgang focus on the role and economic benefits that CBD brings to local communities.

According to ESRT (2013): Community tourism gives tourists experiences of local life in which local communities directly participate in tourism; gain socio-economic benefits from tourism activities and take responsibility for protecting natural resources, environment and local culture. [9 , p5) .

Thus, community-based tourism is a form of tourism involving local communities within a certain geographical area. In which, local communities have the right to actively participate and enjoy the benefits of tourism activities, but at the same time must be responsible for protecting natural resources, the environment and the local culture where they live.

1.2.1.4. Community-based ecotourism

Community-based ecotourism is not only a higher level of ecotourism but also an ecologically sustainable development of community-based tourism. Community-based ecotourism is also community-based tourism but focuses on going to areas with natural attractions, contributing to environmental conservation and the lives of local people [120 , p.29 ].

According to researchers Nicole Hausle and Wollfgang Strasdas (2009): "Community-based ecotourism is a form of tourism in which local people are mainly responsible for development and management. Economic benefits from tourism will remain in the local economy".

According to Respondsible Ecological Social Tours (1997), community-based ecotourism is "a tourism organization that emphasizes the environment, culture and society. Community-based ecotourism is owned and managed by the community, for the community and allows tourists to raise awareness and learn about the community and their daily lives".

The idea behind the “community-based” part of the environmental strategy is to create opportunities to empower communities, increasing their participation in decision-making.

determined, but also simply that these will encourage participation from the community itself.

In summary: Community-based ecotourism (CECO) is a form of tourism organized by the community, based on nature and local culture with the goal of protecting the environment. CECO emphasizes ownership, focuses on widely distributing benefits and improving the quality of life for the community. For tourists, CECO creates opportunities to learn, raise awareness of the environment and cultural exchange, and experience the daily life of the community.

Thus, community-based ecotourism is the essence of ecotourism and sustainable tourism. Community-based ecotourism emphasizes all three elements: environment, tourism and community.

1.2.2. The necessity of community participation in ecotourism activities

Tourist experiences at a destination are generally influenced by the attitudes of local people towards ecotourism activities and tourists. Short-term contact between tourists and local people can contribute to making the ecotourism experience perfect or vice versa. Community participation is one of the most important features in the ecotourism development process. This is considered a challenge and also a great opportunity for both local communities and stakeholders. Therefore, it is necessary to build appropriate development orientations along with timely actions to enhance the capacity of local communities and promote their participation in ecotourism development.

The participation of local communities in ecotourism activities is essential because:

- Local communities are the first to exploit, use and have experience in managing local natural and cultural resources for many generations. Therefore, if they receive practical benefits from participating in ecotourism activities, they may be more strongly committed to the sustainable management of these resources.

- If the local community is involved in ecotourism development, they will be more sympathetic to ecotourism activities and the results achieved from these activities will also be higher.

- Experience and knowledge of local resources by local people will contribute to improving the quality of eco-tourism products.

- Local communities are the ones who directly contact tourists every day, so if people have a positive attitude towards ecotourism activities through participation, benefit and joint decision-making, this will bring significant benefits to themselves, as well as satisfy tourists' needs.

1.2.3. Goals of community-based ecotourism development

Community-based ecotourism is not only a higher level of ecotourism but also a sustainable development of community-based tourism. Community-based ecotourism is also community-based tourism but focuses on going to areas with natural attractions, contributing to environmental conservation and the lives of local people. Therefore, the goal of developing community-based ecotourism will include the goals of both forms of tourism development, ecotourism and community-based tourism, aiming at sustainable development. Specifically, these are the following goals:

a) Contribute to the protection of natural and cultural resources: Ecotourism is a type of tourism that aims to educate people to improve their understanding of the natural environment, thereby creating awareness to participate in conservation efforts. This is one of the basic principles of ecotourism in the clear difference between ecotourism and other forms of natural tourism. Tourists rest and visit scenic spots with an increased understanding of the ecological characteristics of the area and the culture of the local community. It is this understanding that will help visitors behave, demonstrating positive efforts in preserving and developing the values of natural ecology and culture of the area.

b) Community-based tourism contributes to local economic development: this is both a principle and a goal of community-based tourism. If profits from other types of tourism belong to the management company, on the contrary, community-based tourism will spend most of its profits on improving the living environment and enhancing social security for local communities.

c) Increasing participation of local communities through roles such as tour guides, accommodation for guests... thereby creating more jobs and increasing income for local communities. As a result, people's lives will be less dependent on natural exploitation, and at the same time, they will realize the benefits of protecting natural resources for ecotourism development. The pressure of the community on the environment that has existed for generations will be reduced and the local community will be the real owners, the loyal protectors of the natural values and indigenous cultures where ecotourism activities take place.

d) Bringing customers a product that is responsible for the environment and society: Due to the nature-based nature of eco-tourism, it is a type of organization that takes place in nature and in wild natural areas to create tourism products.

1.2.4. Conditions for the formation and development of community-based ecotourism

All tourism development activities in general and community-based tourism in particular are carried out on the basis of exploiting the values of natural, cultural and historical tourism resources along with the conditions of infrastructure and services. The result of the exploitation process is the formation of tourism products from the potential of resources, bringing many benefits to society. First of all, these are socio-economic benefits, creating many job opportunities, improving the economic life of local communities through tourism services, creating conditions for the preservation of cultural and historical values and the diversity of nature where tourism development activities take place. Next are the benefits brought to tourists in enjoying new and unique natural landscapes, historical and cultural traditions, and ethnic characteristics that they had not known before, and thereby establishing a new sense of responsibility for preserving the integrity of the natural, historical and cultural values of the places they visit in particular and of the planet in general.

On the other hand, although community-based tourism is a form of tourism that aims at sustainable development, it cannot be denied that the core role in it is ecotourism - a type of tourism that develops based on nature and indigenous culture. Therefore, the role of ecotourism resources in the development of ecotourism

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