TTLV: Research on Trekking Tourism Routes in Pu Luong Nature Reserve

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

1. Student's full name: Nguyen Thi Thuy Ngan 2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: January 28, 2001

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Decision No. 5410/QD-XHNV dated December 21, 2023, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, recognizing the student.

6. Changes in the training process: None

7. Thesis Title: Research on Trekking Tourism Routes in Pu Luong Nature Reserve

8. Major: Tourism; Code: 8810101.01

9. Scientific supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Quang Anh, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

10. Summary of the thesis results:

This thesis studied trekking routes in the Pu Luong Nature Reserve, Thanh Hoa province, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method combined with field surveys and visitor surveys. The main results include identifying and clarifying six factors that constitute a trekking route and influence the experience: Natural resources, Route technology, Supporting infrastructure, Safety and risk management, Community culture, and Ecological sustainability. The thesis also assessed the importance of each of these factors, with Natural resources identified as the most important factor with a weight of 0.26433, particularly Landscape beauty and Ecosystem diversity, affirming the superior competitive advantage of the Pu Luong Nature Reserve. Route engineering (weight 0.19791) and Safety and Risk Management (weight 0.19067) have high and comparable priority levels, indicating that tourists are very concerned about route quality and safety, with “Road surface condition” and “Guide training” being the highest-rated component factors. Community culture (weight 0.12442) and Ecological sustainability (weight 0.12891) have medium importance levels, reflecting the growing trend of responsible tourism, where “Level of interaction with locals”, “Opportunities to enjoy local cuisine”, “Tourists' awareness of nature conservation”, and “Waste control” are prioritized aspects. Supporting infrastructure received the lowest weighting (0.09375), indicating that trekkers are willing to accept a lack of amenities in exchange for pristine conditions, but still require basic elements such as "clear signage" and "accessibility for emergency services". Regarding the current status and potential of trekking routes in Pu Luong Nature Reserve, the Pu Luong Heritage Route (PA3) was rated as the most optimal route (total AHP score 3.583119), notable for its harmonious combination of diverse landscapes, profound cultural experiences, and moderate difficulty, suitable for a wide range of tourists, and also the most frequently experienced route (57.3% of votes). The Pu Luong Peak Route (PA1) is highly challenging and features pristine landscapes, suitable for the professional travel segment, while the Hon Con Soi Route (PA2) has potential but is limited in terms of infrastructure and promotion. The thesis also highlights new findings such as the development of a quantitative model for evaluating trekking routes based on the AHP methodology, identifying the expectations of trekking tourists in Pu Luong Nature Reserve and comparing them with the current situation to identify gaps for improvement, especially in safety and risk management. Based on scientific analysis, it proposes a priority order for developing trekking routes.

11. Practical applications:

This thesis provides a solid scientific basis for improving policies, detailed planning for each trekking route, supplementing basic infrastructure such as signage and waste collection points, strengthening human resource training, and applying digital technology in tourist management. Simultaneously, it encourages international cooperation and the establishment of a conservation fund for sustainable tourism development.

The thesis suggests the need to standardize products, services, and prices; sign commitments to ethical business practices; invest in developing supporting services such as equipment rental and picnic meals; and apply sustainable tourism principles: reducing plastic waste and sorting waste.

Visitors are encouraged to proactively adhere to the code of conduct in the reserve, respect local culture, choose tours that include forest conservation activities, and ensure they are adequately informed and in good health before participating in trekking. Providing feedback and reviews after the trip is also encouraged to help improve services.

The proposal includes building a multilingual website, leveraging social media for promotion, developing a communication campaign on responsible tourism, and encouraging collaborative in-depth research on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of trekking tourism.

Emphasis is placed on strengthening the role and rights of the community in providing tourism services such as tour guides, food, accommodation, skills training, traditional cultural preservation, waste sorting, and proactively promoting services on online platforms.

12. Future research directions:

Firstly, more in-depth quantitative studies are needed on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of trekking tourism in Pu Luong, using specific indicators to assess effectiveness and sustainability.

Secondly, a comparative analysis of the attractiveness of trekking tourism between Pu Luong National Park and other similar destinations can help draw valuable lessons and identify Pu Luong's competitive advantages.

Thirdly, research into successful sustainable trekking tourism management models around the world and their applicability to Pu Luong will provide practical solutions.

13. The published works related to the thesis:

Nguyen Thi Thuy Ngan, Nguyen Xuan Hai, Ho Ngoc Ninh (2024) “Research on the evaluation framework of trekking tourism routes: A case study of Pu Luong Nature Reserve in Vietnam”,Proceedings of the Workshop Promoting Multidisciplinary Research on New Trends and Innovations in Education to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals (Proceedings No. 1), ISBN (e-Book) 978-604-924-836-8. pp.529-237.

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Nguyen Thi Thuy Ngan 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: January 28, 2001 4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Admission decision number: 5410/QD-XHNV dated December 21, 2023, issued by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: Researching the trekking route at the Pu Luong Nature Reserve

8. Major: Tourism Code: 8810101.01

9. Supervisors: Dr. Nguyen Quang Anh, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

10. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

The thesis has studied the trekking tourism route in Pu Luong Nature Reserve, Thanh Hoa province, using the Analytical Hierarchy Method (AHP) combined with field surveys and visitor surveys. The main results include identifying and clarifying six factors that comprise the trekking tourism route, which affect the experience, namely: natural resources, Route techniques, supporting infrastructure, Safety and risk management, Community culture, and Ecological sustainability. The thesis also evaluates the importance of each of these factors, in which Natural resources were identified as the most important factor with a weight of 0.26433, especially Landscape beauty and Ecosystem diversity, affirming the outstanding competitive advantage of Pu Luong Nature Reserve. Route Engineering (weight 0.19791) and Safety and Risk Management (weight 0.19067) have high and equal priority, indicating that tourists are very concerned about the quality of the road and safety, with “Road conditions” and “Guide training” being the most highly rated components. Community culture (weight 0.12442) and Ecological sustainability (weight 0.12891) have medium importance, reflecting the growing trend of responsible tourism, with “Degree of interaction with local people”, “Opportunities to enjoy local cuisine”, “Tourists' awareness of nature protection”, and “Waste control” being the prioritized aspects. Supporting infrastructure has the lowest weight (0.09375), indicating that trekkers are willing to accept a lack of amenities in exchange for primitiveness, but still need basic factors such as “Clear signage” and “Accessibility to emergency medical care”. Regarding the current status and potential of trekking routes in Pu Luong Nature Reserve, Pu Luong Heritage Trail (PA3) is considered the most optimal route (total AHP score of 3.583119), standing out with a harmonious combination of diverse landscapes, profound cultural experiences and moderate difficulty, suitable for many types of tourists, and is also the route most experienced by tourists (57.3% of votes). Pu Luong Peak Route (PA1) is highly challenging. It has wild landscapes, suitable for the professional customer segment, while Hon Con Soi Route (PA2) has potential but is limited in infrastructure and promotion. The thesis also emphasizes new results, such as building a quantitative assessment model of trekking routes based on the AHP method, determining the expectations of trekking tourists in Pu Luong Nature Reserve, and comparing with the current situation to point out gaps that need improvement, especially in terms of safety and risk management. From there, propose a priority order for developing trekking routes based on scientific analysis.

11. Practical applicability, if any:

- The thesis provides a solid scientific basis for perfecting policies, detailed planning for each trekking route, supplementing basic infrastructure such as signs, garbage collection points, enhancing human resource training, and applying digital technology in tourist management. At the same time, encourage international cooperation and build a conservation fund to develop sustainable tourism.

- The thesis suggests the need to unify products, services, and prices, sign a business ethics commitment, invest in developing additional services such as equipment rental, picnic meals, and apply sustainable tourism principles: reducing plastic waste, classifying waste.

- Encourage tourists to proactively comply with the code of conduct in the reserve, respect indigenous culture, choose tours with forest protection activities, and be fully equipped with knowledge and health before participating in trekking. Sending comments and reviews after the trip is also encouraged to improve services.

- Propose to build a multilingual website, exploit social networks for promotion, build a communication campaign on responsible tourism, and encourage cooperation in in-depth research on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of trekking tourism.

- Emphasize the enhancement of the role and benefits of the community in providing tourism services such as tour guides, cuisine, accommodation, skills training, preserving traditional culture, implementing waste classification, and proactively promoting services on online platforms.

12. Further research directions, if any:

First, more in-depth quantitative studies on the economic, social and environmental impacts of trekking tourism in Pu Luong are needed, using specific indicators to assess its effectiveness and sustainability.

Second, a comparative analysis of the attractiveness of trekking tourism between Pu Luong NR and other similar destinations can help draw valuable lessons and identify Pu Luong's competitive advantages.

Third, research on successful sustainable trekking tourism management models in the world and their applicability in Pu Luong will provide practical solutions.

13. Thesis-related publications:

Nguyen Thi Thuy Ngan, Nguyen Xuan Hai, Ho Ngoc Ninh (2024) “Research on the evaluation framework of trekking tourism routes: A case study of Pu Luong Nature Reserve in Vietnam”,Proceedings of the Workshop Promoting Multidisciplinary Research on New Trends and Innovations in Education to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals (Proceedings No. 1), ISBN (e-Book) 978-604-924-836-8. pp.529-237.