Thesis information "Community tourism in the mountainous areas of Northern Vietnam (Case study of Sa Seng village, Sapa, Lao Cai and Lac village, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh)" by HVCH Nguyen Thi Huong, majoring in Ethnology.1. Full name of student: Nguyen Thi Huong 2. Gender: Female 3. Date of birth: September 25, 1985 4. Place of birth: Minh Hai, Van Lam, Hung Yen 5. Decision to recognize student No: 2551/2007/QD-XHNV-KH&SDH dated: November 2, 2007 by the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 6. Changes in the training process: None 7. Thesis topic: Community tourism in the mountainous areas of Northern Vietnam (Case study of Sa Seng village, Sapa, Lao Cai and Lac village, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh) 8. Major: Ethnology; Code: 60 22 70 9. Scientific supervisor: Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh, Department of Anthropology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 10. Summary of the results of the thesis: Tourism as a form of commercial service provision by local people is one of the new types of tourism that has appeared in recent years in Vietnam and has great potential for development. Up to now, there have been a few studies defining the concept and preliminary assessments of this form of tourism, but there have been no in-depth studies in the community and therefore there is a lack of field documents to better understand tourism activities and its socio-economic and environmental impacts. This study was conducted using ethnographic fieldwork to collect information based on comparative assessment of community tourism activities in two typical areas of community tourism development, namely Sa Seng village, Sapa, Lao Cai and Lac village, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh. Therefore, the thesis has made significant contributions to the awareness of community tourism. The thesis was conducted using ethnographic fieldwork, implementing the approach to the problem from model comparison based on the collection and analysis of systematic and highly synthetic information sources. Similarities and differences in tourism activities in the two villages were analyzed and compared to find a model for sustainable community tourism development and propose implications for practical activities. 11. Practical applicability: Based on the analysis and comparison of models based on information sources and data collected from field research, the author has demonstrated and pointed out the model of sustainable community tourism development in Lac village, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh. At the same time, proposals for sustainable tourism development are made, which are valuable practical values that this thesis brings.
INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS
1. Full name: NGUYEN THI HUONG 2. Sex: Female 3. Date of birth: September 25, 1985 4. Place of birth: Hung Yen 5. Admission decision number: 2551/2007/QD-XHNV-KH&SĐH, Dated November 2, 2007 by the Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 6. Changes in academic process: None 7. Official thesis title: Community Based-Tourism in the Northern Uplands Area, Vietnam (The case study of villages of Sa Seng (Sapa, Lao Cai) and Lac (Mai Chau, Hoa Binh) 8. Major: Ethnology 9. Code: 602270 10. Supervisors: Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh, Department of Anthropology, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-Hanoi 11. Summary of the major findings: Community-based tourism, a form of tourist service directly provided by the local people can be seen as a new form of tourism that appeared recently in Vietnam. There have been several studies trying to conceptualize the definition and features of this type of tourism, and offering initial assessments and suggestions for sustainable tourism development. There are however some gaps of our understanding on this new type of tourism that need to be filled up, particularly its impacts on economy, environment, and local society. This study is an attempt to look at the community-based tourism from the view of cultural anthropology. The selected research sites for fieldwork are the villages of Sa Seng of the Red Yao in Lao Cai and Ban Lac of the White Thai in Hoa Binh. These two places have been developing the community-based tourism and could represent two different models of tourism service and management and may have different impacts on the local community. The study starts with the identification of tourism resources in the northern uplands of Vietnam with emphasis on two major forms of resources including natural ecology/environment and ethnic cultural diversity. We consider these the main attractions of community-based tourism in the northern uplands of Vietnam. From a comparative perspective, we have analyzed the tourism activities, management and levels of participation by local people in tourism process and various aspects of impacts on community, economic and cultural. 12. Practical applicability: The case of community-based tourism in the two villages under study suggests that local people are facing a dilemma between protection of their own cultural identity and sustainable development. Community-based tourism can only sustain if the protection of local culture and natural environment are combined as they are the most important resources of tourism.
