Sustainable tourism development in the world heritage tourism destination - The scenic landscape complex of Trang An

1Nghiên cứu trao đổi ● Research-Exchange of opinionTạp chí Khoa học - Trường Đại học Mở Hà Nội 72 (10/2020) 1-6 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORLD HERITAGE TOURISM DESTINATION - THE SCENIC LANDSCAPE COMPLEX OF TRANG AN Nguyen Thi Thu Mai, Nguyen Anh Quan* Date received the article: 2/4/2020 Date received the review results: 2/10/2020 Date published the article: 26/10/2020 Abstract: The Scenic Landscape Complex of Trang An was the fi rst mixed heritage site of Vietnam and South East Asia that was recognised by UNESCO as one of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The developments of the tourism scene has not only contributed to the economy of the local residents but also helps to establish the connection between the diff erent parties in- volved. In addition, it also creates various opportunities for cultural exchange as well as promotes the overall image of the destination. However, the expansion of tourism also leads to a number of setbacks for the local economy as well as the socio-cultural scene and the environment of the heri- tage site. In order to ensure the sustainable development of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, striking a balance between the process of conservation and development is of the utmost priority so that the current demands of tourists and the local community will be fulfi lled and at the same time do not interfere with the ability to provide for the future generations. Keywords: Sustainable development, tourism, heritage, Trang An * Faculty of Tourism - Hanoi Open University 1. Introduction Being the fi rst mixed heritage site of Vietnam and Southeast Asia to be rec- ognised by UNESCO as a World Cultur- al and Natural Heritage, Trang An (SLC) Scenic Landscape Complex stretches over 12,000 hectares under administrative ad- dresses of 5 districts, cities of Ninh Binh province. Trang An SLC is an unique and interesting destination with a harmoni- ous combination between beautiful natu- ral landscapes and rich cultural heritage. Through tourism activities and events as well as the rich scene of history, culture, nature and stunning aesthetics, the overall image of Trang An SLC has been wide- ly conveyed to the general public, both domestically and internationally, thus bringing in signifi cant sources of income, contributing to the local economic devel- opment. Over the past few years, along with the ever increasing number of tour- ists coming to Trang An SLC, the confl ict between the process of conservation and development has become more and more apparent. In order to ensure the sustainable development of Trang An SLC, the issue of harmonizing the relationship between conservation and development needs to be addressed so that “the current demands are fulfi lled without aff ecting or interfer- ing with the ability to meet the needs of the future generations” (WCED, 1987) 2 Nghiên cứu trao đổi ● Research-Exchange of opinion according to the principles of sustainable development. 2. Sustainable tourism develop- ment - Tourism activities on Scenic Landscape Complex of Trang An and their impacts According to the World Tourism Or- ganization - UN-WTO, the act of sustain- able tourism development must take into account diff erent aspects of economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts, in addition to balancing the benefi ts of the parties involved, namely the local commu- nities and businesses both for the present and future (UN-WTO, 2010). Sustainable tourism development requires the harmo- ny between diff erent interactive systems including: Economy - Create prosperity for the community and economic effi - ciency for all stakeholders; Socio-cul- ture - Respect for equality, contribute to creating peace and human development; Recognize and respect diff erent cultural backgrounds, preserve the cultural values; Environment - Protect and manage natural resources; minimize environmental pol- lution, conserve diverse in biology and natural heritages. 3. Economic impacts of tourism activities The reality of tourism development at attractions has proven that economics is an important aspect, most concerned because tourism contributes to creating investment opportunities, employment opportunities and increasing the income therefore alleviating poverty in the local community at the tourist destinations. With globally outstanding values in cul- ture, aesthetic beauty and geomorphology, in recent years, Trang An SLC has become † Statistics of Ninh Binh Tourism Department one of the most attractive tourist destina- tions in Vietnam. During the period from 2010 to 2019, the number of tourists com- ing to Ninh Binh increased rapidly with an average annual growth rate of 11% , av- erage revenue increased 23.6% per year. In 2018, Trang An SLC welcomed more than 6.25 million visitors, an increase of 2% compared to 2017, of which domes- tic tourists accounted for over 5.52 mil- lion. The number of international visitors reached over 731 thousand arrivals, rose by 2% and 2.8%, respectively compared to 2017. In 2019, the number of domestic tourists reached over 5.56 million, inter- national visitors reached approximately 760 thousand arrivals, revenue from tour- ism alone reached 867.5 billion VNІ. Tourism also changes the overall economic structure and at the same time, diversifi es the jobs market of local com- munities. In many tourist destinations such as the ancient Capital of Hoa Lu, SLC of Trang An - Tam Coc - Bich Dong, the economic structure has changed from ag- riculture and handicraft to services. Many households who used to live off of by farm- ing and breeding have switched to provid- ing tourism-related services with many occupations such as: boating, selling sou- venirs, photographing, tour guiding, work- ing as staff at restaurants, hotels, home stay businesses, ... The average growth rate of labor participating directly and indirectly in the tourism sector in Ninh Binh over the past 10 years - from 2010 to 2019 is estimated to have increased about 26% per year. Many fi elds are formed or developed as a result of the development of tourism, which support the growth of tourism prod- ucts such as: construction, transportation, accommodation, retail, fi nance ..., espe- 3Nghiên cứu trao đổi ● Research-Exchange of opinion cially production activities of Traditional craft villages such as Van Lam embroider- ies, Kim Son sedge mat, Phuc Loc carpen- try, Ninh Van stone... thrive by introducing and the selling of products to tourists and visitors. Income of local residents in tour- ist attractions has increased - per capita to about 5 million VND/month, contributing to improving the economy of the local res- idents. It can be seen clearly that tourism has made a signifi cant contribution to the socio-economic development of the locali- ty, although there are also signs of a wealth gap between the rich and the poor as the income gap tends to widen. 4. Socio - cultural impacts of tour- ism activities In addition to economic, tourism ac- tivities also have many positive socio-cul- tural impacts. Through union activities, so- cial activities associated with tourism, the residential community in Trang An SLC is ever more connected. Tourism activities also create cultural exchange opportunities between domestic and international tour- ists, help to further promot Trang An tour- ism image, enhance the pride of the local community, reinforce the tradition of lov- ing one’s homeland as well as one’s coun- try. In addition, the coordination between the state management agencies of culture and tourism at all levels, businesses and local residents at heritage sites in manage- ment activities, in grasping the situation to ensure communal security as well as the implementation of the Code of Conduct of Civilized Tourism in the tourist attracting areas and destinations in Trang An QTDT, is done quite well. knowledge about her- itage protection, behavioral communica- tion skills, cultural and civilized lifestyle in tourism activities of a part of the local community in the Core region of the SLC is enhanced through participation in a number of training courses organized by the Department of Tourism, the District People’s Committee, Trang An SLC Man- agement Board. Some discussions between the Management Board and street vendors, photographers, and motorbike taxi drivers have been carried out in order to reorganize and put the service providing businesses into order. According to a research in 04 borough in the heritage Core region (Ninh Hai, Truong Yen, Ninh Van, Ninh Xuan), in recent years, tourism related activities has not increased the rate of crime and so- cial evils in the locality. In particular, the habit of smoking in the past, which existed in some areas of the Truong Yen borough, decreased signifi cantly after the tourism development had created more job oppor- tunities for the residents. There is no longer begging or pickpocketing delinquency tak- ing place at tourist attractions. However, the current state of vio- lating laws in construction and in tourism businesses still happened and has not been completely overcome. Dozens of cases of individuals disregarding the law and build- ing without a permit or with the incorrect permit, spontaneously changing the pur- pose of the use of land, doing business without a permit or without ensuring the conditions for tourism business right in Core regions of the SLC, are consequenc- es of pursuing economic benefi ts. In addi- tion, the fact that the quantity and quality of the labor force in the tourism sector don’t keep up with the growth in the number of tourists will aff ect their ability to serve the needs of tourists. Thus, it can clearly be seen that tourism activities have basically implemented the principles of sustainable socio-cultural development, but the issue of order in construction and tourism busi- ness needs to be re-addressed, and fi rmly maintained, the human resources for tour- ism must also be improved both qualita- tively and quantitatively. 4 Nghiên cứu trao đổi ● Research-Exchange of opinion 5. Environmental impacts of tour- ism activities In terms of environment, sustain- able development requires protecting and managing natural resources, conserving biodiversity and natural heritages and minimizing environmental pollution. Ac- cording to Mr. Pham Sinh Khanh, Vice Chairman of Trang An SLC, awareness and action on environmental protection in Trang An SLC of businesses and the local residents has been improved sig- nifi cantly. This is the result of integrating and thoroughly understanding legal doc- uments on environmental management and protection, conservation and promo- tion of heritage values into the communal conventions; training courses on heritage and environmental protection, especial- ly in core communes such as Ninh Hai, Ninh Thang ... for tourist accommodation establishments, tourist service businesses and residents. In addition, some business- es also have diverse methods of contrib- uting to environmental protection such as linking the interests of workers with re- sponsibility for environmental protection, assigning people to care for trees and pay- ing remuneration. However, besides the bright spots in environmental protection activities, as for most tourist destinations, it has been shown that tourism development often entails en- vironmental consequences, Trang An SLC in this case is of no exception. Because the goals and motivations of the parties in- volved in tourism related activities are very diff erent, thus making the process of manag- ing and protecting the environment as well as the conservation and promotion of the heritage very diffi cult. In 2018, the Trang An SLC Management Board discovered and made a written request to authorities and local government to handle 06 cases of violations of the reserve forests and envi- ronmental landscapes in Ninh Hai, Truong Yen, and Son Ha communes. In general, the environmental protection activities of businesses, especially the food and bever- age businesses, still lack initiative, not pay- ing attention to waste treatment. During the festival season, the amount of waste sharp- ly increases (due to tourists overload) and is collected, processed and burned right in the Core zone of the heritage , aff ecting the soil, water and air environment and causing problems in the overall aethestic of the des- tinations, especially in the two communes Truong Yen and Ninh Xuan. In addition, the cases of illegal exploitation of fi rewood, ex- ploitation of ornamental plants, ornamental stones, and hunting of wild animals have not been completely resolved. Thus, despite progress in the protection of landscapes and heritage environments, the task of develop- ing tourism harmoniously and environmen- tally sustainable is still a big challenge for all participants at Trang An SLC. 6. Harmonize interactive systems - Sustainable tourism development in Scenic Landscape Complex of Trang An There is no denying the signifi cant contribution that tourism brings to the development in all aspects of socio-eco- nomic life in Trang An SLC. However, from the viewpoint of sustainable devel- opment, the positive impact on all aspects, especially the economic aspect is only one of the conditions contributing to the suc- cess of sustainable tourism development. Sustainable tourism development requires harmony among all interactions, includ- ing economic, socio-cultural and environ- mental. The current state of tourism devel- opment in Trang An SLC shows that, be- sides the meaningful contributions, there are still many limitations - a consequence of the tourism development process, espe- cially in terms of culture - social and envi- 5Nghiên cứu trao đổi ● Research-Exchange of opinion ronmental such as diff erentiation between the rich and the poor, deterioration of service quality, the quality of the natural environment, especially in the peak sea- son. The main cause of these shortcom- ings is identifi ed by the perception of the role and importance of heritage protection associated with sustainable tourism de- velopment and the livelihoods of a part of the local population and of the commune authorities is still limited; lacking initia- tive and tenacity in the act of coordination between the authorities, local government and businesses in solving and handling vi- olations, especially in the construction of houses and business establishments and the services provided by the local resi- dents; The process of research and iden- tifi cation of key markets as well as the ability to space and diversify the fl ow of customers are not really eff ective. There- fore, it is necessary to have measures to solve these problems, in order to ensure conditions for sustainable tourism devel- opment. Improving management The state government still continues to perfect the management mechanism and management model at tourist sites in the heritage area. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen the implementation of manage- ment tasks, professional tasks, inspection assignment, and supervision of the obser- vance of legal regulations in tourism acti- vities, construction order and tourism busi- nesses at Trang An SLC. As for the tourism and heritage management agencies, local authorities must resolutely handle violations in the construction of houses and service es- tablishments associated with tourism of the local residents; to put an end to the illegal exploitation of natural resources, hunting of wild animals and other acts of environmen- tal encroachment in the heritage area. Partnering and cooperating: Trang An SLC Management Board continues to work closely with relevant agencies, businesses, local authorities and especially communities in the heri- tage area to monitor and grasp the overall situation of protecting and promoting the legacy of the heritage. Moreover, Trang An SLC Management Board also works with local authorities to ensure securi- ty, order, safety, hygiene, environmental landscape on inland waterways, roads, protect reserve forests, protect biodiversi- ty; coordinate with businesses in guiding tourists and local residents to ensure the implementation of the Code of Civilized Tourism Conduct in tourist spots and at- tractions; coordinate with the authorities in guiding the households in the heritage site to strictly comply with the regulations on housing construction and business permits. Promote connection in training, retraining both managerial and general workers of training institutions, tourism related businesses and enterprises. Training and retraining human re- source: Focusing on the task of training and retraining to improve the quality of hu- man resources for the occupation of her- itage management; workforce planning in the fi eld of tourism, assess the training requirements for the current workforce in order to have a plan to foster profession- al skills, foreign languages ... associated with specifi c job positions. At the same time, determine the requirement for quan- tity, quality and structure of tourism hu- man resources in the short, medium and long term periods to develop appropriate training plans and programs. Doing research: Research of the market needs to be invested in in order to build a solid sci- 6 Nghiên cứu trao đổi ● Research-Exchange of opinion entifi c basis, identify suitable key mar- kets, and prioritize quality over quantity. In addition, in order to avoid the issue of overloading which leads to negative en- vironmental consequences, it is essenti- al that the process of researching the ca- pacity of each specifi c tourist area in the heritage area be carried out. In addition, there needs to be research to assess the environmental impact of tourism activi- ties in order to devise a plan to make the most of tourism within the capacity of the environment. Finally, it is necessary to focus on research, development and diversifi cation of tourism products, with emphasis on green tourism products, ecotourism in diff erent tourist destinati- ons in the heritage region to simultane- ously address the diverse needs of the market, and to both diversify and space the fl ow of tourists while creating more livelihoods for local people, and contri- buting to protecting the environment of the heritage site. Educating and promoting: Promote the task of propagating, providing extensive training courses on heritage conservation and attaching the valuable heritage with sustainable tourism development. Publicizing is not only for individuals who are directly involved in tourism activities but also needs to be car- ried out on a large scale, by the local au- thorities, local residents and related busi- nesses located in the heritage area with the aim to raise awareness, adjusting behavior in the process of interacting with the heri- tage environment in general. ‡ According to the guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention of the UNESCO, Cultural and Natural Heritage are invaluable and irreplaceable assets. It not only belongs to a nation, but also belongs to the humanity in general 7. Conclusion Nationwide, Ninh Binh is one of the pioneering localities in building a set of reg- ulations in all fi elds to manage the mixed heritage site of Trang An SLC. In addition to other results in the conservation and promo- tion of the heritage, this is a good sign show- ing the determination of the government and management units in their eff orts of harmo- nizing the relationship between conservation and development. With the consensus of all parties involved in tourism activities in Trang An in the process of resolving existing limita- tions, tourism will have suffi cient conditions for sustainable development so that Trang An SLC can forever be an invaluable asset of hu- manity‡. References: 1. Trang An SLC Management Board, Sum- mary of work in 2016, 2017, 2018. 2. Choi, H. C., & Sirakaya, E. (2006). Sus- tainability indicators for managing communi- ty tourism. Tourism Management, 27(6), 1274 - 1289. 3. United Nations World Tourism Organiza- tion. (2010). Tourism high lights: facts & fi g- ures. Madrid, Spain. 4. Yfantidou, G., & Matarazzo, M. (2016). The Future of Sustainable Tourism in Developing Countries. Sustainable Development, 25(6), 459-466. 5. World Council for Economic Development. (1987). Our common future, World Commis- sion on the Environment and Development. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Author address: Faculty of Tourism - Hanoi Open University Email: maintt@h@hou.edu.vn