Community Participation and Sustainable Tourism: A Government-Guided Participation to Heritage Tourism in Trang An – Vietnam

Abstract

The present study examines the impact of community participation to sustainable tourism development in Trang An, Vietnam. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study and a quantitative survey on over 170 local residents and representatives from the government and the industry. In general, we found that the local communities in Trang An did participate actively to tourism development and their involvement improves their living conditions greatly in all sustainability dimensions: economy, culture, society, and environment. Our findings highlight the role of a government-initiated participation to guide the people towards the correct trajectory. We also suggest several solutions to improve the effectiveness of community participation with regards to the local context.