From ha long bay to trang an landscape complex: Issues on tourism management at world heritage sites, Vietnam

Abstract

This paper discusses the issues related to tourism management at two attractive World Heritage sites in Vietnam, namely Ha Long Bay and the Trang An Landscape Complex in the viewpoint of economy and social aspects. In general, both sites are well-managed by local authorities with a strong commitment to preserving its outstanding universal values. However, there are several issues in governance, crowd management and tourism impact that affect local residents which need to be improved by the following recommendations. Firstly, reforming governance model to privatization or transferring operation authority to the private firm and strengthening public-private partnership with strong compliance to the laws and regulations are recommended. The type of investment should be widened to a less detrimental impact on the heritage site, such as technology infrastructure, heritage-based performance, generating creative content in heritage and so on. Secondly, in terms of crowd management, it is necessary for local authorities to implement appropriate assessments, increase ticket prices and develop new tourist attractions in order to disperse overcrowded areas and enhance tourists’ experience rather than massive tourism development. Thirdly, local authorities need to pay more attention to guarantee the social and economic benefits to the vulnerable local community so that their lives are not disrupted by visitors, simultaneously promoting interactive activities between local residents and visitors for cross-culture understanding through community-based tourism and creating sustainable high-paid jobs.