Rethinking community-based tourism initiatives through community development lens: A case study in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Guided by the Social Vocation of Territory (SVT) framework, this research delves into the challenges encountered by Community-Based Tourism (CBT) initiatives in Vietnam, using Quang village as a focal point. Conducted through two fieldwork expeditions spanning 2019 to 2022, the study unveils key hurdles, including elite capture, social exclusion, disruption of community solidarity, and an increased burden on rural women. Aligned with the SVT framework, these findings emphasize the potential risk of undermining social cohesion when tourism overlooks local realities and norms. This research underscores the significance of adopting a community development perspective, offering insights to assess tourism’s impact on the social fabric. The current work advocates for implementing flexible, context-conscious CBT approaches grounded in a realistic understanding of local sociocultural dynamics.

KEYWORDS:

• Community-Based Tourism (CBT)
• community development
• Social Vocation of Territory (SVT)
• Rural Vietnam

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the authorities and households in Quang village for their invaluable support during the survey. We would also like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the University of Economics, Hue University, Grant No. NNC.ĐHKT.2023.05. Finally, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT), and Okayama University for their support in facilitating this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval

I hereby state that the manuscript has followed the course on research ethics offered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), which was completed by the first author. This work is original and has not been previously published elsewhere. All authors will take public responsibility for the manuscript content.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2024.2344218

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by the University of Economics, Hue University, Grant No. [NNC.ĐHKT.2023.05].