The Position of Tourism in Socio-Economic Development

The utility of tourism products is multifunctional. On the other hand, most tourism products are intangible, so their utility value is also abstract and difficult to measure. The most common way to evaluate them is still based on the level of satisfaction of tourists.

The value of tourism products is also due to the expenditure of labor by the producers of tourism goods and services crystallized in it. However, tourism products have a complex structure, so calculating and measuring the value of tourism products is more difficult than ordinary goods. Based on the structure of tourism products, the value of tourism products can be divided into three contents: Value of tourist attractions, value of material tourism products (tourism facilities), and value of tourism services. In which, the value of material products is measured by the expenditure of necessary social labor, while the value of tourism services is determined by the attitude of serving tourists and the level of equipment serving tourism activities.

1.2.3.3. Basic characteristics of tourism products

The characteristics of tourism products are expressed through the following basic characteristics:

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(1) Synthesis

The synthesis of tourism products is determined by the socialization of tourism activities and the complexity of tourism needs. Tourism products are a synthesis of many categories, many different types of goods and services. It is related to many economic, political, social, cultural, international exchange fields and is provided by many professions in society such as transportation, accommodation business, travel services, culinary business... In addition, there are also indirect professions serving tourism activities such as design and construction of tourist works, production of souvenirs, insurance, health care, training of laborers serving tourism...

(2) Non-preservability

As a service product, tourism products are non-storable. Tourism products do not exist in the “production” process, nor are they expressed in concrete objects; their value is transferred step by step through each time the product is consumed. When tourists buy a tourism product, the supplier immediately grants them the right to use the tourism product.

within a certain period of time. If the tourism product cannot be sold in time, it cannot realize its value, causing great losses for the tourism product supplier.

(3) Immovability

The main content of tourism activities is expressed in the sightseeing activities of tourists at the tourist destination. The items of tourism products such as beautiful landscapes, temples, pagodas, temples of literature ... are "products" that cannot be moved, for tourism services, the place of production is also the place of consumption. Therefore, to consume tourism products, tourists must move to the place of "production". Moreover, in the process of exchanging tourism products, there is no transfer of product ownership, tourists only have the right to use the product for a certain period of time.

Due to the immovability of tourism products, it is difficult for buyers - tourists - to evaluate the quality of the product before purchasing. Therefore, tourism businesses need to focus on advertising, tourism promotion and provide complete and accurate information about their tourism products to tourists effectively.

(4) Simultaneity of production and consumption

Because they cannot be stored, tourism businesses only start “producing” products when tourists buy them. And only when tourists receive the service will their spending occur. This characteristic of tourism products also makes it difficult for tourists to check the quality of the product before buying. Therefore, tourism businesses need to pay close attention to maintaining their business reputation, providing tourists with the best quality tourism products and services to create a good impression on tourists and attract them to come back the next time.

(5) Volatility

The process of production and consumption of tourism products is influenced by many factors. If one or several factors fluctuate, it will affect the entire process of exchanging tourism products and the realization of tourism product values. Therefore, the production and consumption of tourism products are inherently volatile.

Among the factors affecting tourism products, there are factors created by its own characteristics. First of all, tourism products are a type of synthetic product made up of many combined parts. If just one or a few of these items change, it will immediately affect the entire tourism product. In addition, tourism products are also affected by political, economic, social factors, natural landscapes at tourist destinations, government policies, etc. These are factors that tourism businesses are unable to control or adjust.

Understanding the concept and characteristics of tourism products has important practical significance for tourism businesses. It helps these businesses understand the nature of tourism products in order to have effective business strategies to meet the diverse needs of tourists.

1.2.4. Tourism activities

The implementation of modern tourism activities requires a combination of certain factors and conditions. From those main factors and conditions, tourism activities can be seen as a synthesis of many relationships and phenomena arising from the conditions and interactions between tourists - tourism subjects - whose needs give rise to a series of tourism service activities; tourist destinations, landscapes, historical relics - tourism objects; brokerage activities .

The interaction between the subject and the object of tourism is the objective basis for the emergence of tourism brokerage activities, thereby forming the tourism market. The task of tourism brokerage activities is to create harmony and realize the relationship between the consumption of the subject of tourism and the consumption of the object of tourism.

In addition, to ensure that tourism activities achieve good results, promote positive impacts, and limit negative impacts of tourism activities, it is necessary to have the participation of local authorities in managing tourism activities where tourists are welcomed.

It can be understood that "Tourism activities are the sum of a series of relationships and phenomena based on the existence and development of socio-economy, taking tourism subjects, tourism objects and tourism intermediaries as conditions". [12, 15]

Tourism activities can be represented by the following diagram:

Figure 1.1. Tourism activity diagram

Tourist objects

Tourism subject

Government

local

Travel agent

According to the diagram above, tourism activities require the coordinated participation of four factors.

: tourism subjects - tourists; tourism objects - natural landscapes, historical sites ...; local authorities where tourists are welcomed - state management of tourism and tourism brokerage companies. In practice, tourism activities are expressed in the activities of tourism businesses and local authorities such as: organizing and guiding tours, producing and exchanging goods and services, designing and constructing tourist facilities, state management of tourism ... to meet the needs of tourists for travel, rest, accommodation, sightseeing, entertainment, resort ...

From the analysis of the above tourism activity diagram, it can be seen that tourism activities are affected by many factors such as the socio-economic environment, political environment, the attitude of local people towards tourists, natural conditions, etc. Therefore, in tourism planning, these factors must be taken into account.

1.2.5. The position of tourism in socio-economic development

1.2.5.1. Socio-economic development

“Economic development is economic growth associated with the improvement of economic structure and institutions, improving the quality of life and ensuring social justice”. [2,44] . According to Ho Chi Minh, social development is human development. It is the sustainable development of a country and nation in all aspects: politics, economy, society, culture.

So, it can be understood that socio-economic development is the sustainable development of a country, "is the process of progressive change in the quality of life, the change that considers people as the goal of development and makes people become the decisive subject on the basis of economic growth under conditions of social justice". [8,358]. In other words, socio-economic development is the premise of progress in human social history, aiming to develop highly productive forces and production relations; progressive political regime, equitable and democratic distribution of economic results; cultural and spiritual life is constantly improved.

1.2.5.2. The position of tourism in socio-economic development

Socio-economic development puts people at the center, aiming to make human life increasingly prosperous in material and civilized in spirit. To achieve that noble goal, there must be efforts and close coordination of all professions, all fields, all classes of people to exploit and effectively use the socio-economic resources of a country.

In the socio-economic development strategy of countries, diversifying the industrial structure is a very important strategy. The economic structure includes three major sectors: agriculture, industry and services. Tourism is a service sector, an important component in the industry structure of a unified national economy. The development of tourism and related industries contributes to the diversity of the economic structure, promotes the development of society in many fields and contributes to the transformation of the economic structure towards modernization.

“The development of the tourism industry on the one hand allows the exploitation of tourism potential, increases income, creates jobs for the population… On the other hand, the development of the tourism industry also contributes to expanding exchanges, developing foreign economic relations, and opening up the economy. Therefore, the rapid development of the tourism and service industries is considered one of the specific contents of industrialization and modernization in the near future” [2, 301] .

Thus, the development of tourism activities as a service industry will stimulate the development of material production industries such as industrial production and agriculture, contributing to the completion of the country's industrialization and modernization.

improve people's lives. When the economy develops, it creates technical conditions to promote tourism to develop even more strongly.

1.3. THE ROLE OF TOURISM IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1.3.1. The role of tourism in economic development

1.3.1.1. Contribute to promoting economic growth

Tourism products are highly comprehensive, including many categories of tourism products, provided by many different industries and fields. Tourism development leads to the development of a series of related industries such as transportation, construction, souvenir production, food processing, accommodation business, trade, travel business, insurance ... The economic value brought by these industries will contribute to increasing the total social product, promoting economic growth.

1.3.1.2. Promote the division of social labor, create conditions for the development of commodity economy, promote economic restructuring

When tourists consume tourism products, it means that they have to consume many different tourism products in turn. During their trip, tourists must meet their needs for travel, food, accommodation, entertainment, sightseeing, shopping, medical treatment, etc. Due to the diversity of tourism products, each tourism business unit cannot provide all of these items at the same time but must rely on the association of many different units. The production and supply of tourism products will be specialized into industries such as travel business, accommodation business, architecture, infrastructure construction, souvenir production, food processing, insurance, preservation and restoration of historical relics, etc. In modern tourism activities, these industries gradually develop into independent economic sectors. The development of social division of labor and production specialization in tourism activities and many other industries is one of the premises for the development of commodity economy - market economy.

On the other hand, most of the tourism products belong to the industrial and service sectors. The development of tourism activities gradually increases the proportion of the industrial and service sectors, gradually reduces the proportion of the agricultural sector, causing the national economic sector structure to shift towards modernity, bringing high economic and social efficiency.

1.3.1.3. Contribute to creating capital for industrialization and modernization

One of the indispensable input factors for developing tourism activities is tourism resources, including scenic spots, historical sites and unique customs and practices of the locality that welcomes tourists. Due to the special nature of tourism products, the value of tourism resources is not lost after each sale, creating the ability to exploit and maintain long-term revenue if there is a reasonable investment and exploitation strategy. For international tourism, the export rate from tourism activities will generate a large source of foreign currency. Thus, the development of tourism activities contributes to capital accumulation for countries in the early stages of industrialization and modernization.

Furthermore, according to the law of economic restructuring, the value of service industries increasingly accounts for a high proportion of the total social product, and goods sold through tourism activities also have higher prices than those of conventional forms of trade. Therefore, revenue from tourism activities plays a huge role in creating the capital premise for the industrialization and modernization process.

1.3.1.4. Contribute to modernizing the material and technical facilities of the entire economy

“Tourism infrastructure is understood as all technical and material means mobilized to participate in the exploitation of tourism resources to create and implement services and goods to satisfy the needs of tourists during their journeys.” [27,188]. According to this definition, tourism infrastructure includes both the infrastructure of the tourism industry itself and the infrastructure of other sectors of the entire national economy participating in the exploitation of tourism potential.

The material and technical facilities serving tourism activities are an important component of tourism activities, contributing to determining the competitiveness of tourism business activities. The material and technical facilities for tourism are very rich and diverse, including

Technical facilities serving intermediary activities: agents, offices and travel companies, means of transport, transportation systems; technical facilities serving accommodation: hotels, motels, villas, coastal resorts; technical facilities serving food and beverage; technical facilities serving entertainment: swimming pools, tennis courts, parks, entertainment complexes... Modernizing tourism technical facilities, on the one hand, helps improve the competitiveness of the tourism industry, on the other hand, contributes to modernizing the technical facilities of the entire economy.

1.3.1.5. Improve the quality of labor

When analyzing the role of improving the quality of labor in tourism activities, the author considers both subjects: laborers who are tourists and laborers who are local residents of tourist areas.

In modern life, the need to travel becomes more frequent in all classes of people, including the majority of workers. Travel time is the time for tourists to rest and relax both physically and mentally. During the trips, tourists can enjoy delicious food, rest in comfortable hotels, enjoy beautiful scenery, unique cultural and historical relics, learn about traditional festivals and collect a lot of information at the tourist destination. The enjoyment of both material and spiritual things during the travel time will help tourists regenerate their physical and mental labor, contributing to increasing labor productivity in the following working days.

On the side of the local tourism sector, revenue from tourism activities will be invested by the local government in socio-economic development such as education, health care, infrastructure construction, etc., creating conditions for local people to study, receive medical treatment, and participate in cultural activities regularly with better service quality. This is one of the practical policies of the local government to improve health and cultural level. Therefore, tourism activities not only help to reproduce the labor force of tourists but also contribute to improving the quality of life of local people.

1.3.1.6. Creating conditions for expanding and improving the effectiveness of foreign economic relations

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