I~

U T T E R W O R T H
E [ N E M A N N

Tourism Management, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 31.5-325, 1995

Copyright (~) 1995 Elsevier Science Lid
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0261-5177/95 $10.00 + 0.00

Reports
Tourism development in Vietnam
The recent decision by the United States to lift the 20-year-old trade
embargo is a great boost to Vietnam's economic development in general
and to its tourism in particular. The emergence of mass tourism in the.
1960s bypassed Vietnam, and its neighbors Laos and Cambodia, because
of war and political and economic constraints. Vietnam is therefore not
ready for a large influx of tourists. Specifically, it lacks a suitable
infrastructure, accommodation facilities, an appropriate tourism organization and skilled staff. Vietnam's new economic policy of 'openness'
(doi moi) will facilitate tourism development. This report examines
Vietnam's tourism resources, market potential, and the need for government to assume the broad responsibility and policies that should optimize
economic benefits whilst preserving the country's social, cultural and
ecological features.

to control the phased expansion of

Vietnam's tourist sector properly.
In this context, the question is
whether the government will have the
political will to take the lead to develop appropriate tourism, or opt for
short-term laxity which is likely to
encourage longer-term problems. 2 In
case of the former, the government
has to make a conscious decision to
assume the broader responsibility for
planned tourism development.

Background
It has been convincingly argued that
tourism has made a considerable economic contribution to Third World
countries 'and that this contribution
will continue in the future'.l The decision by the United States, in January
1994, to lift the 20-year-old trade
embargo, combined with Vietnam's
efforts to develop an infrastructure for
tourism, affords Vietnam significant
opportunities for economic development that could benefit the Vietnamese people.
At present, Vietnam is very much
moving from a non-existent to the
'embryonic' stage of tourism development. Therefore, it could benefit by
learning from the tourism development experiences of other countries in
the region which have developed tourism more or less successfully. For example, the expansion of tourism in
Thailand with 5.1 million tourist a/Tivals in 1992 provides an illustration of
a 'fast-track' tourism development
model and its commensurate problems, such as crowding, degradation
of the environment, commercialization of the culture and increased prostitution.
Indonesia, with three million tourist
arrivals in 1992, provides an example
of a country which has opted for slowgrowth tourism development. The In-

donesian government has turned tourism into an essential lever to enhance

the national economy whilst making
every effort to preserve cultural
assets. It remains to be seen whether
Indonesia will be able to sustain tourism development in its intended direction as tourist arrivals have doubled
since 1988.
Given the need for Vietnam to earn
foreign exchange, it is tempting for the
country to follow Thailand's 'fasttrack' model. The rapid development
of tourism in Vietnam in line with this
scenario would be characterized by
foreign direct investment, the exploitation of sex tourism by an impoverished people and the lack of
tourism organization. In terms of
potential touristic resources Vietnam
is well endowed, and the market
potential presents Vietnam with good
opportunities for tourism growth.
Transnational corporations are therefore eager to invest in Vietnam's tourism sector. Prostitution, encouraged
by the succession of military interventions, and foreign troops, has the
potential to attract a significant number of 'tourists', just as in Thailand
and the Philippines. Lastly, there is no
appropriate tourism organization and
tourism management expertise in
Vietnam. It will therefore be difficult

Vietnam is situated to the east of the

Indo-Chinese peninsula. Its long narrow territory stretches 1700 km from
north to south and in the centre a
mere 50 km from east to west. Vietnam has common borders with Cambodia in the west, Laos and China in
the north. Typified by very hilly terrain, the country covers an area of
some 327 500 km 2. Its varied landscape ranges from forests and mountain areas (three-quarters of the land
surface) to rivers, delta areas and
beaches. The coastline, which extends
for 3260 kin, has fine beaches and
archipelagos, stretching from the
Tonkin Gulf to the Gulf of Thailand.
Vietnam's landscape represents, in
many respects, a basic resource for the
development of tourism products.
In 1991 Vietnam had a population
of 69 million which, at an annual
growth rate of 2.5%, is anticipated to
reach 90 million by the year 2000. The
p o p u l a t i o n c o m p r i s e s 87% Kinh
(Vietnamese), the bulk of whom live
in the Red River delta in the North
and the Mekong delta in the South.
With traditions, languages and cultures that differ greatly, the ethnic
minorities are spread over the high
plateau and mountainous regions.
Vietnam is located in the Southeast
Asia monsoon zone, between the Tro-

315

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pic of Cancer and the Equator, which

gives rise to a humid climate. North
Vietnam's climate is influenced by the
winds of Central Asia, which give rise
to pronounced winter and summer
seasons. In Central Vietnam, the climate varies from north to south. The
part of Central Vietnam closest to the
north of the country is almost identical
to that of the Red River delta, whereas that part of Central Vietnam closest
to the south has climatically more in
common with the Mekong delta area.
South Vietnam's climate is characterized by a relatively constant temperature, a rainy season from May to
October, and a relatively dry to dry
season from November to February
and February to April, respectively. It
is important to assess realistically the
climatological constraints (monsoons
and typhoons) and opportunities in
relation to tourism product development from region to region. The tourist season is from October to December and May to June in the north;
from May to August and January to
April in the centre and May to December in the south.
The climate and fertile soil make for
abundant vegetation. Diminished by
war, chemical defoliation, and population growth, the tropical forests are
still immense and cover two-fifths of
Vietnam. The forests of Vietnam contain over 700 identified plant species,
including oak, pine and cedar and in
the south trees of oil and resinproducing variety. Vietnam's wildlife
includes more than 200 species of
mammals, including elephants, tigers,
panthers, antelopes, tapirs, 180 species of reptiles and more than 270
species of birds.
From a cultural perspective, Vietnam has much to offer visitors. It has
rich historical sites, architectural
monuments,
French colonial
architecture primarily in the cities and
'Indo-Chinese' cultural heritage, war
heritage and spirit. Importantly, the
Vietnamese people are hospitable.
The historical heritage of this country
is still largely unknown to the outside
world. The interpretation of these resources as tourism products implies
comprehensive research and strategic
marketing of interesting architecture,
ancient and modern art, music, dance,

316

handicrafts (lacquerware, embroidery, bamboo ware, reed baskets, pottery and woodwork) and religious customs and festivities. 3
This combination of natural and
cultural resources forms a strong basis
to develop a unique tourist product
and has the potential to make Vietnam an attractive destination for visitors seeking beach holidays and those
who are interested in touring the natural and scenic locations, historic places
and cultural attractions.

Market potential
A major tourism feature of the 1980s
and especially since 1985 has been the
sharply increased share of long-haul
travel. Newly emerging destinations
were strongly promoted whilst at the
same t i m e many short-haul destinations lost much of their attraction
(such as the Mediterranean region for
European travellers). Higher disposable incomes and an increasing interest in 'new' destinations made this
shift practicable. According to tourism
forecasts by the Economic Intelligence
Unit (EIU) long-haul travel is set to
grow, on average, 5.8% in the period
1989-2005, substantially faster than
short- or medium-haul travel. International tourist arrivals in East Asia and
the Pacific region grew faster than any
other region by an average of 8.9%
per annum between 1980 and 1990
whilst receipts increased by 15% during the same period.
Whilst the share of European tourist arrivals is considerable, for example traffic between Europe and East
Asia and the Pacific amounted to eight
million arrivals in 1992, the major
growth factor, however, throughout
Asia, is intra-regional travel which
comprised 73% of all tourist arrivals in
1992. In 1992, the major touristgenerating countries in the region
were: Japan (11.7 million), Taiwan
(4.2 million), Australia (2.2 million),
Hong Kong (2.2 million), India (2.1
million) and Korea (2.1 million).
The future prospects for further
tourism development in Southeast
Asia look very bright. Within this
international context Vietnam is well
positioned, at least geographically, to
obtain its fair share of the expanding

tourism market. The recent improvements of accessibility, by air, can be

seen as a first indication of the continuous expansion of tourism. With
the travel and trade embargo from the
U S A repealed, it is most probable that
this destination will increasingly be of
interest to Americans. In the short
term there is the potential of returning
military personnel. But curious Americans, who dodged the draft or walked
in peace marches, may visit Vietnam
in larger numbers than the war veterans. Other major tourist-generating
countries for Southeast Asia are the
UK, Singapore, Germany, France,
Holland, Italy, Canada, Switzerland
and New Zealand. Initially, business
and pleasure travellers are likely to
visit Vietnam as a stop-over on a
regional tour. But Vietnam offers
sufficient product variety for the country to be able to promote itself as a
single destination, once sufficient
tourist facilities and hotels have been
developed,
Current events have placed Vietnam at a crossroads. It can choose to
develop tourism for the broad market,
or promote appropriate tourism which
aims to attract specific market segments that are compatible with the
types of tourism that are most likely to
contribute to the country's long-term
well-being. To achieve appropriate
tourism development, Vietnam will
have to formulate intended strategies
that align its strengths and weaknesses
with environmental threats and opportunities. Though Vietnam is, at present, somewhat of a curiosity, the
novelty should wear off before long.
Ultimately, Vietnam has to compete
with other Asian destinations for the
limited leisure time and discretionary
income that tourists are prepared to
part with. These include Cambodia,
Laos and Myanmar (Burma) which
are all attempting to expand their own
tourism sectors.
It is anticipated that Vietnam will
welcome about 1.5 million international tourists by 2000. However,
thanks to the strong growth of the
intra-regional market, the profile of
future tourists and, as a consequence,
the set of demands is likely to change.
For instance, from the present small
market segments of business tourists

Tourism Management 1995 Volume 16 Number 4

Reports

S .....

"

Minh City, situated in the Mekong

delta, offers possibilities for river
cruises and in addition has potential for urban tourism development. As a basis for excursions to
the beaches and islands, regional
tourism development is a realistic
perspective.

i-,

'--"~ LAOS

,: _

is

'(

\,.

,'.... ~- ~ . ~-' ~ T

NAM

q
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4

HA NOI HA LONG DEN BIEN PHU~.~

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22
~"~ k., w,~.~%_

HUE DA NANG

~.

NHA TRANG DAL

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HO GHI MINH VILLE

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-p

Figure I Main tourist regions in Vietnam

and trendsetters, such as specialinterest groups, a shift towards other
market segments, such as beach tourism, and cultural sightseeing tourism is
expected.
In 1991 a tourism development master plan for the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam was published by the World
Tourism Organisation (WTO) in collaboration with the United Nations
development plan. According to the
World Tourism Organisation (WTO)
masterplan (VIE/89/003), Vietnam
has four 'poles' or regions that offer
substantial market potential for tourism development (see Figure 1). 4
Tourist region 1: H a n o i - H a LongDien Bien Phu. Hanoi, a historic
capital city with a long history
(since the l l t h century), is still
recognizable in the urban morphology. It has an attractive location in
the Red River basin. Ha Long Bay
and Haiphong comprise a major
port area in the north, and there
are also several beach resorts such
as Do Son, Catbe Island, Hong
Gai. The H a n o i - H a Long-Dien
B i e n P h u t o u r i s t r e g i o n is

characterized by a coastline with

karst l i m e s t o n e o u t c r o p s , and
many islands that are attractive for
sea excursions. Last but not least,
Dien Bien Phu a village in the
north-west is a French military
heritage site.
Tourist region 2: The historical site
of H u e - D a Nang, once the imperial capital, with a citadel, enjoys a
situation along with Song Huong
(Perfume River). Now in a state of
renovation (with UNESCO support), the name Da Nang conjures
up images and memories of the
American troops landing in 1965.
The H u e - D a Nang tourist region is
also known for its tropical beach
area and cultural heritage, for example, the Buddhist monastery.
Tourist region 3: Nha T r a n g Dalat. Tourist resources in Nha
Trang are strongly based on the
attractive coastlines and beaches
and hot springs, in combination
with Dalat which has been redesignated as a health centre (since
1893).
Tourist region 4: Ho Chi Minh City
(Saigon) and surroundings. Ho Chi

Tourism Management 1995 Volume 16 Number 4

The geographical clustering of tourism

development is advocated, based on
the presence of major tourism attractions on the one hand and on present
hotel capacity on the other. In 1990,
Vietnam had a total stock of 18 900
rooms, of which 7500 presently meet
international standards. The bulk of
these hotel rooms are located in Ho
Chi Minh City and Hanoi and this is
where the majority of new hotel projects will be constructed. 4
The master plan clearly distinguishes between short-term (till 1995)
and long-term objectives (1996-2000).
In the first stage of the master plan the
following steps are recommended:
rearranging the tourism organizational structure;
defining and planning priority tourist regions;
the building of 2500 new hotel
rooms and the upgrading of 4800
rooms.

These recommendations are based on

the forecast of about 500 000 foreign
visitors per year by 1995, up from
250 000 in 1991. It is estimated that
this growth will generate about 28 700
additional jobs in the tourism industry.
In the second stage of development
the following steps are recommended:
the strengthening of tourist market
activities;
the building of a further 8200 hotel
rooms to raise the hotel capacity
for a visitor flow of 1.5 million per
year;
the individualization of tourist
business;
improving the transport facilities.
Product differentiation is a key issue.
There is a great need for developing
unique and eye-catching projects that
cater to 'niche' markets as opposed to
the mass market. Only by building
tourism on its unique features can
Vietnam hope to establish itself as a

317

Reports

competitive destination. Presently,

service in Vietnam is poor. It will take
the raising of service standards and
competencies to sustain Vietnam's
competitiveness amongst other destinations in the region.
There are two examples that are
especially worth sharing because they
illustrate how sustainable tourism development strategies recommended by
WTO/UNDP may be implemented in
practice. In particular, the objective of
the pilot project examples is to translate these plans into the development
of specific tourist products.
The first example involves the development of a 'Vietnam by train'
product. Vietnam by rail is inspired by
the success of rail-based tourist product development on several continents and countries, such as the
Orient Express in Europe, and Andalucia Express in Spain, the Maharajah
Express in India, and other such proposed projects in, for example, Australia and Thailand. Within Vietnam
there is a strong interest to explore the
potential of the national railway network as a basis for tourism development. The V i e t n a m e s e R a i l w a y s
(CFV) have the capability to organize
tourist excursions and develop even
more comprehensive tour packages on
condition that the functioning of the
systems is improved.
There are several important arguments that support the development
of a 'Vietnam by train' product; these
include:
the existing North-South connection, which was built by the
French, offers the potential to
make accessible the major areas of
tourist interest in Vietnam and
open a zone of 1600 km for tourism
development, including a variety of
scenic and cultural attractions. This
product will spread tourism over
the several regions in Vietnam and
alleviate, to some extent, the strain
on the four major tourism regions;
the prospects of an international
connection with the southern part
of China, for example with the
region of Guilin, which is of major
tourist importance and with Cambodia, with Angkor Wat as a major
attraction, allow for multi-country
touring packages;
318

an environmentally friendly travel

mode which fits in perfectly with
the latest trends towards alternative tourism and nostalgic ways of
travelling;
the identification capacity of the
project in terms of geographical
zoning, and product development.
The uniqueness of the product
opens
especially
interesting
marketing perspectives;
the possibility of a wide involvement of (inter)national, regional
and local interest groups. Public
bodies (Vietnam tourism, Vietnam
railways) as well as private entrepreneurs (national and international) can be partners in this joint
venture;
the spin-off effect for the develoment of small business trade along
the route (hotels, restaurants, bars,
souvenir shops, indigenous art and
handicrafts, food shops, taxi tour
guides, etc.) All can benefit from
this product development;
the possibility to combine transport
and accommodation (in hotels or
guest houses along the route) into
one product. This has an additional
attraction for the marketing of the
product;
the opportunity for creating an original 'tourist package' which can be
offered to several target groups.
Through differential pricing in particular it will be possible to develop
a portfolio of diversified products,
including an up-market luxury
package, a budget adventure tour
package, an intensive programme
and a more relaxed and comprehensive programme.
The proposed 'Vietnam by train' project requires an extensive feasibility
study. In particular, this concept
needs to be further developed in terms
of the core elements of the tourist
product and identification of the main
tourist attractions which can be linked
by railway travel. In addition, the
secondary elements of the tourist product have to be defined, especially the
range of amenities that require development along the route. According
to the WTO Masterplan and some
initial orientation in the field this pilot
project opens several interesting perspectives in terms of:

creating an incentive for publicprivate partnership in tourism development;

introducing relevant concepts in
the planning process of tourism development;
giving an example of how to proceed in the marketing of a national
tourist product;
developing a flexible tourist product which can easily be adapted to
changing demand of the international (and national) tourism market; and, last but not least
a product which definitely holds
many opportunities for the domestic tourism market, and guarantees
a wide and fast economic spin-off
in each of the regions along the
route.
The second illustration involves a pilot
project for the urban and regional
tourism development of a specific region: Northern Vietnam. Hanoi,
being the capital city of the Republic
and a main gateway for foreign visitors, is, in many ways, the 'identity
card of Vietnam'. It can also be developed as the staging area for excursions in an attractive region. For example, the surrounding region offers
an attractive and diversified set of
attractions such as:
Ha Long bay, with its famous scenery, beaches and cruising possibilities;
Dien Bien Phu, with its military
heritage and attractive mountain
scenery;
the mountain area with colonial
settlements, ethnic tribes and possibilities for adventure travel in the
beautiful scenery of Ninh Binh.
Both components, the local urban
tourism potential and the regional
potential, need to be studied in the
context of tourism development in
Northern Vietnam.
A start has already been made to
develop urban tourism in Hanoi. The
business community has played an important role in this urban tourism development initiative. Hanoi offers a
myriad of tourism potential and
appeal: it is a relic of Vietnam's imperial and colonial past and has a cultural heritage, architectural uniqueness,
and as a capital city offers liveliness.

Tourism Management 1995 Volume 16 Number 4

Reports

Table 1 Tourismdevelopmentplan for Hanoi

Recommendations
1. Preservation, development and education:
analyse where the interesting historical artefacts are located
integrate historical elements in the development of an urban tourist product in terms of
spatial clustering and functional associations
stimulate the awareness of the role of heritage in tourism development, through
education programmes
2. Planning and policy:
indicate key areas for tourism development in connection with the commercial areas
draft an urban tourism development plan in combination with urban conservation
policies
assess the planning and policy instruments to implement the urban tourist development
plan
identify ways to let tourism pay for the costs of urban conservation
3. Management of integration and implementation:
introduce concepts on integrated urban and regional tourism planning and marketing
create a wider platform for tourism development, involving urban planners and
architects, local and national authorities, public and private interest groups and
investors
provide national and local authorities with a tool for the professional management of
tourism development
link Hanoi with the region as a selling point for Vietnam

One
source
has
corroborated
Hanoi's appeal as follows: 5
The city of Hanoi has a history of more
than one thousand years. The most distinctive features of the city, giving it a unique
place among the cities of Vietnam, Asia
and the World, are the buildings and
streetscapes of the Old Sector and Ancient
Quarter, together with the parks, lakes,
Red River and other national features.
Hanoi's built environment reflects the
city's Chinese and Vietnamese feudal past,
the period of French Colonial presence,
and the recent years of independence. The
most noteworthy features include the central Hoan Kiem Lake, the One-column
Temple, the Van Mieu pagodas, the
Ancient Quarter of the 36 Commercial
Streets, north of Hoan Kiem and founded
in 1010, and the public buildings, opera
houses, villas and treelined boulevards,
dating from the French period, 1850-1940,
in the area south and east of Hoan Kiem.
H o w e v e r , a combination of physical
deterioration and rapid economic dev e l o p m e n t pressure and international
business
now
places
Hanoi's
architectural heritage under threat
(4 p 6).
In view of urban tourism development, the protection of the historical
heritage is of vital importance. The
issue of a conservation policy in relation to tourism was also mentioned
explicitly in the W T O Master plan.
The preparation of a tourism development plan for Hanoi implies following
a set of guidelines which is summarized in Table 1 and incorporates the

notion of sustainable tourism development in an urban setting.

G o v e r n m e n t policy
Vietnam has recently entered a new
stage of development towards a free
economy but its economy faces a difficult period. In view of the generally
run-down situation in most parts of
the country, every vehicle for economic revitalization, including tourism,
should be used. So far, the Vietnamese g o v e r n m e n t is placing particular emphasis on those sectors which
are likely to generate foreign currency
in the short term such as the oil and
gas industry, agriculture, the transportation sector (including airports,
harbours, railways and roads) and
tourism.
The new perestroika-like policy of
doi moi, implying new arrangements
for i n v e s t m e n t s , o p e n s interesting
perspectives for the d e v e l o p m e n t of
tourism in Vietnam. Doi moi was introduced during the Sixth Party Congress in 1986 and has o p e n e d the door
for the private sector to capitalize on
myriad opportunities.
The use of tourism planning as a
m a n a g e m e n t tool for purposes of integ r a t e d e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t is
rather new and totally foreign to Vietnamese traditions. ~ Therefore, in dev e l o p i n g tourism in V i e t n a m , the

Tourism Management 1995 Volume 16 Number 4

transnational private sector will have

to pay special attention to the implications of the current move of the country from a planned economy to a
f r e e - m a r k e t e c o n o m y . Within this
c o n t e x t V i e t n a m has issued quite
liberal regulations on foreign investments, in all sectors and also in the
hotel sector, primarily because of the
m a j o r lack of domestic captial.

Sustainability
There is often a tendency, especially
in developing countries, to view tourism d e v e l o p m e n t as the natural outcome of hotel investment. This
approach holds, in essence, that more
hotel beds generate tourist flows and
equal better tourism results. But this
u n i d i m e n s i o n a l sectoral a p p r o a c h
ignores the functioning tourist system
and fails to acknowledge the importance of developing simultaneously a
sound t o u r i s m i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , and
therefore risks the 'ills' inherent in
rapid, ad hoc tourism development,
including possible environmental, social and cultural degradation. 7 The
u n i d i m e n s i o n a l sectoral a p p r o a c h
stands in stark c o n t r a s t with the
strategic approach, which aims to
p r o m o t e sustainable tourism development through the creation of value for
all constituents: the host society, tourists and the (trans)national tourism
industry.
T h e W o r l d C o m m i s s i o n on Environment and D e v e l o p m e n t defined
sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the
p r e s e n t without c o m p r o m i s i n g the
ability to meet similar needs in the
future, s At present, there may be no
consensus on what exactly constitutes
'sustainable' or 'responsible' tourism.
But as C o o p e r and Ozdil pointed out,
'the way ahead is . . . to view responsible tourism as a "way of thinking" to ensure tourism is responsible
to host environments and societies'. 9
Within this context, the principles of
sustainable tourism are to a large extent expressed in P A T A ' s Charter
(Table 2). In particular, sustainable
tourism d e v e l o p m e n t requires that:

Tourism d e v e l o p m e n t is part of an
integrated plan for economic and
social progress.

319

Reports
Table 2
tourism

PATA '91 conference resolutions: PATA code for environmentally responsible

In essence, the code calls for PATA's Association and Chapter members to adopt an
environmental ethic which will enhance:

long-term profitability
product sustainability
intergenerational equity

The specific responsibilities PATA members are asked to accept are:

Adapt the necessary practices to conserve the environment, including the use of
renewable resources in a sustainable manner and the conservation of non-renewable
resources
Contribute to the conservation of any habitat of flora or fauna, and of any site whether
natural or cultural, which may be affected by tourism
Encourage the relevant authorities to identify areas worthy of conservation and to
determine the level of development, if any, which would ensure those areas are
conserved
Ensure that community attitudes, cultural values and concerns, including local customs
and beliefs, are taken into account in the planning of all tourism-related projects
Ensure that assessment procedures recognize the cumulative as well as the individual
effects of all developments on the environment
Comply with all international conventions in relation to the environment
Comply with all national, state and local laws in relation to the environment
Encourage those involved in tourism to comply with local and regional and national
planning policies and to participate in the planning process
Provide the opportunity for the wider community to take part in discussions and
consultations on tourism planning issues insofar as they affect the tourism industry and
community
Acknowledge responsibility for the environmental impacts of all tourism-related
projects and activities and undertake all necessary responsible, remedial and corrective
actions
Encourage regular environmental audits of practices throughout the tourism industry
and encourage necessa~'y changes to those practices; foster environmentally responsible practices including waste management, recycling and energy use
Foster in both management and staff of all tourism-related projects and activities an
awareness of environmental and conservation principles
Support the inclusion of professional conservation principles in tourism education,
training and planning
Encourage an understanding by all those involved in tourism of each community's
customs, cultural values, beliefs and traditions and how they relate to the environment
Enhance the appreciation and understanding by tourists of the environment through
the provision of accurate information and appropriate interpretation
Establish detailed environmental policies and/or guidelines for the various sectors in
the tourism industry

Source: Asia Travel Trade Ecotourism: Going Green (June 1992) 28.

Strategies for tourism d e v e l o p m e n t

benefit the host country and the
host population.
Environmentally responsible policies fully respect the natural and
cultural identity of tourism resources.
Local/national enterprises and initiatives are strongly involved and
supported.
International investments should
fit into the overall tourism development plan in terms of place and
type of tourism product: put differently, the 'right' type of development in the 'right' place.
Sustainable tourism d e v e l o p m e n t depends on both Vietnam's characteris320

tics, including the country's physical

features, economic and social structures, and its level of economic and
tourism d e v e l o p m e n t and the type and
characteristics
of the tourists
attracted. 1 For example, the opportunity spectrum which western tourists
expect to find in a holiday destination
tends to be broad. Their demand for
c o m p l e t e tourist packages of high
quality should be anticipated, in order
to be successful in the competitive
tourist market. H o w e v e r , tourism development in a Third World setting
which caters to the mass recreational
tourist market can place the indigenous culture and even the economic
benefits at risk (s p 378).
This observation implies the need

for a g o v e r n m e n t policy which strives

to achieve an appropriate match between the supply of tourist products
and market demand. Prior to the development of tourism, the carrying
capacity of development sites needs to
be assessed. The very attraction of
particular places, without planning for
resource and visitor m a n a g e m e n t and
community involvement, carries an inherent risk of spoiling them if, for
example, without any further thought
the mass market is attracted, or an
inappropriate mix of tourism facilities
is developed. The capacity to develop
tourism facilities in a particular place,
or along a specific route, therefore
demands careful planning and marketing. Furthermore, the possible impact
of tourism needs to be assessed in the
destination areas and also along the
transit routes. The balance between
supply and demand, between economic benefits and social costs, needs to
be monitored continuously and therefore an appropriate mechanism must
be d e v e l o p e d for monitoring purposes.
A m a j o r trap in tourism development is raising tourists' expectations
to a level where it becomes difficult to
live up to their expectations. A n o t h e r
danger lurks in the urge to profit from
tourism on a short-term basis, to the
extent that the long-term impact of
tourism or the social costs become
irrelevant. To attain long-term objectives and compensate for the absence
of an e x p e r i e n c e d tourism sector,
Jenkins has argued the requirement
for government involvement in tourism d e v e l o p m e n t
in d e v e l o p i n g
countries."
It appears that the Vietnamese gove r n m e n t is committed to develop tourism along sustainable guidelines, because it has taken the following steps
recently:

It has introduced a new law, the

Statute on Tourism Business management, regulating the tourism
b u s i n e s s u n d e r c o n t r o l of the
Ministry of C o m m e r c e and Tourism.
It has organized the ' V I S I T Vietnam Year' in 1990, to create more
awareness of the role of tourism
amongst the Vietnamese people.
It has b e c o m e a m e m b e r of P A T A

Tourism Management 1995 Volume I6 Number 4

Reports
(Pacific and Asian Tourist Association).
It has b e c o m e a m e m b e r of
ASEAN, in order to develop cooperation with South Asian countries
in the field of tourism.
It has formulated a Tourism Master
Plan, with the help of WTO and
UNDP, which constructs a useful
framework for the future policy of
tourism development in Vietnam.

Summary
The opening up of Vietnam presents
the country with both opportunities
and challenges. The future prospects
for further tourism development in
Southeast Asia look very bright. Within this international context Vietnam
is well positioned, at least geographically, to obtain its fair share of the
expanding tourism market. However,
an approach of just generating and
regenerating a 'stream' of tourists, as
has been the case in other Asian countries, is likely to result in short-term
laxity and encourage long-term problems. The main challenge is therefore
to develop tourism in a sustainable
manner, which is a strategy problem.
A host of issues, and the present (lack
of) expertise seems to make sustainable tourism development almost a
'mission impossible'.
Because of its limited resources,
Vietnam should focus initially on
promoting itself as a 'stop-over' destination for visitors who are on a regional tour. The tourism development
master plan for Vietnam proposed
that projects which are based on the
strongest and unique assets for tourism development and projects for
which the necessary (foreign) investment can be found in the short term
will be designated as priorities.
Four regions were identified because they are most likely to act as
potential catalysts for future development projects. Once these four regions have been more fully developed,
Vietnam might consider marketing itself as a single destination.
The emerging policy indicates that
the government is shouldering the responsibility for managing sustainable
tourism, which will benefit Vietnam
most and become a source of pride

and wealth for the coming generations

of Vietnamese people.
The achievement of sustainable
tourism development will be most difficult in light of the urgent need for
Vietnam to earn foreign exchange and
because of limited resources and
knowledge. The issue of sustainability
therefore hinges on the political will of
the Vietnamese government and the
ability of the tourism sector to learn
from other countries in the region
which have developed sustainable
types of tourism.

Myriam Jansen- Verbeke

Center for Tourism Management
Erasmus University
Postbus 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Frank Go
Department of Hotel and Tourism
Management
Hong Kong Polytechnic
Hung Horn
Kowloon, Hong Kong

References
qenkins, C L 'Tourism in Third World

development - fact or fiction.'?" Inaugural

lecture, University of Strathclyde, 30 April
1992.
2Singh, T V, Theuns, H L and Go, F M
(eds) Towards Appropriate Tourism: The
Case of Developing Countries Peter Lang
Verlag, Frankfurt am Main (1989)

3Tourism Development Master Plan,

Socialist Republic of Vietnam World Tourism Organization and UNDP, Madrid
(1991)
4McKinnon, A 'Vietnam: constructive invasion' Asia Travel Trade 199324 (8) 16--17
~Anon. Memorandum Friends of Hanoi

Architectural Heritage International Foundation Indochina Financial Services, Sydney, 1993 (15 February) 6
~Getz, D 'Models in tourism planning'
Tourism Management 1986 7 (1) 21-32
7jansen-Verbeke, M 'Tourism: Quo
Vadis?' inaugural lecture, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, 17 February 1994
SWorld Commission on Environment and
Development (WCED) Our Common
Future Oxford University Press, Oxford/
New York (1987)
'~Cooper, C P and Ozdil, I 'From mass to
"responsible" tourism: the Turkish experience' Tourism Management 13 (4) 1992
377-386
H~Mathieson,A and Wall, G Tourism, Economic, Physical and Social Impacts Longman, New York (1982)
~Jenkins, C L "Government involvement
in tourism in developing countries' Annals
of Tourism Research 1982 9 499-521

Lifting the bamboo curtain

Myra Shackley, Professor o f Culture Resource Management at Nottingham Trent University, reports on 'Reducing the Barriers to International
Tourism', Beijing, 9-12 November 1994, a meeting organized jointly by
Purdue University, Beijing Institute o f Tourism and Hong Kong
Polytechnic.

This meeting, located in Beijing, examined the effect of barriers to travel

with particular emphasis on existing
and projected tourism within the
A s i a - P a c i f i c a r e a . As W i l l i a m
Theobald, co-organizer, pointed out,
travel has always carried some risks;
the word itself derives from the Latin
travail, meaning dangerous or difficult. Existing barriers to travel include
cultural differences, safety, poor
sanitation/hygiene in destination areas
and poor access to transportation, information or inferior service quality.
Despite these tourism continues to
grow and, as Steven Halsey of the

Tourism Management 1995 Volume 16 Number 4

World Travel and Tourism Council

(Asia) pointed out, by 2005 the AsiaPacific area will account for 24% of
the world's output, accounting for
US$1.9 trillion and employing 234 million people.
The Chinese National Tourism
Administration is having to develop
strategic plans to cope with the everincreasing tide of visitors resulting
from the lifting of travel restrictions.
During 1993 more than 7.01 million
visitors came to China, creating foreign exchange earnings of up to
US$4.68 million. This was accompanied by an equally dramatic growth in

321