Workshop “Sustainable tourism development in Southeast Asia - issues raised”

Tourism development not only brings economic benefits, but also contributes to poverty alleviation, creates employment opportunities, promotes cultural exchange as well as global integration. However, tourism development is also associated with a number of environmental problems, such as increased waste, air pollution and climate change. In addition, the increase in social evils such as prostitution, theft... are all related to the increase in domestic and international tourists. Concerns about the degradation of tourism development have made sustainable tourism development a special concern in recent times. In Southeast Asia, along with the rapid growth of tourism in all countries in the region, the issue of sustainable tourism development has also been mentioned early and has been thoroughly researched...

Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Principal of the School) gave a welcoming speech to the guests attending the conference.

The international conference was held at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to provide an academic forum for researchers, educators, government officials, tourism practitioners, etc. to discuss, expand knowledge, share empirical research and provide advice on sustainable tourism development. The focus of the conference was to clarify the current situation and discuss key issues with sustainable tourism in Southeast Asia, including the context, challenges, constraints and collaboration between stakeholders. Solutions, implications and consultancy activities were also proposed based on the results. The conference brought together keynote speakers from universities as well as leading individuals in the field of tourism and travel. Although all countries in Southeast Asia are currently at very different stages of development in the tourism-life cycle, all face problems caused by local and/or international tourism.

The papers presented regional, even local, perspectives on these growth-related issues and showed how local stakeholders could respond. The content of the papers reflected different social, ecological or economic aspects of (sustainable) tourism. Some typical papers were:Towards sustainable tourism development in southern Shan State - Case study of Kalaw as a tourist destination; Cultural heritage with sustainable tourism:A Comparative Study of Luang Prabang Town and Hoi An; The Emergence of Russian-Language Tourism Economy in Nha Trang, Vietnam;Comparative analysis - sustainable tourism approaches and strategies:Community tourism initiatives in rural areas…

Tourism is not only a business, but also a social and environmental activity that involves many people in many different parts of the world. Through this conference, some of the challenges facing tourism in Southeast Asia today were highlighted, and some successful case studies of tourism sustainability were presented. Many of the presentations showed that the challenges have not been resolved – thus there is still a long way to go to achieve sustainable tourism development worldwide, not just in Southeast Asia. The conference contributed new ways of thinking and action for all stakeholders to identify, change or reduce negative impacts, towards sustainable tourism development.