Community-based tourism is one kind of tourism that offers the most sustainable economic benefits for local people. It is often developed in communities with distinctive landscapes and indigenous cultures but difficult socio-economic conditions. In our country, community-based tourism mostly develops in the northern mountainous region, while in Quang Ninh in general is not very advantegous for this tourism type, however, in some localities, community-based tourism has gained good results.
Recently, the pilot model of community-based ecotourism at Quan Lan island in Van Don district has been developed since this early summer. This is a new tourism product offered to tourists after 2 years of implemention by the Board of Community-based ecotourism in Quan Lan Island. According to the evaluation of the Board, the local community on the island have been more actively involved in environmental protection in general and more conscious in exploiting and preserving aquatic resources in fishing grounds.
Earlier, one of the first community-based tourism models in Quang Ninh was the model of Van Chai Ha Long cooperative deployed by Indochina Cruise Joint Stock Company since 2005, that enables tourists to visit and discover fishing villages while sailing boats and experience the natives' daily life. The model has created a new and unique product, as well as helped to raise the people's awareness of protecting the eco-environment and offer jobs for the locals. As a result, Vung Vieng fishing village receives an average of 10 thousand tourist arrivals per month.
Another community-based tourism model is Yen Duc Village Tourism in Dong Trieu town which started in 2010. It is now a well-known community-based tourism attraction in Quang Ninh, greeting an average of around 4,000 arrivals per month. Visiting Yen Duc village, tourists will have a chance to enjoy experiences with agricultural activities, watching water puppet show, singing folklore songs and enjoy local foods.
Binh Lieu district has paid special attention to community-based tourism. The district has created the best conditions for enterprises to undertake surveys to develop community-based tourism in the locality. And now, it is also planning to allow local community to establish self-management teams to provide tourism services in the district, in an effort to meet tourists' demands.
However, development opportunities are always accompanied by challenges, and so is the community based tourism in Quang Ninh. In many localities of the province, tourism infrastructure, investment resources, and human resources are the common challenges with which need to be dealt in order to pave the way for community-base tourism in Quang Ninh.
Translated by Hue Linh
