Hanoi (VNA) – The community’s participation in tourism developmentnot only helps maintain long-term economic contributions, but also ensures thenecessary support for and supervision over tourism activities. Therefore,according to insiders, it is an effective solution to promote sustainabletourism.

Today, in addition to the need to visit thescenic spots, tourists also want to explore the indigenousculture and experience the daily life activities of local people. This wouldnot be possible without the community’s involvement in tourism activities.

This is identified as the "key"to finding consensus between the community and stakeholders in making decisionson tourism development, thereby creating motivation for destinations to developrapidly and sustainably. In addition,mobilising their participation in tourism development is also a solution tohelp create livelihoods; improve locals’ living conditions; raise theirawareness on preserving the living environment, tourism resources and culturalidentity; and enrich products in a positive way.

Being aware of the importance ofcommunity-based tourism development, in recent times, several localities anddestinations have taken practical measures to encourage the community to engagein developing the non-smoke industry.

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of northern mountainous Son La province Tran Xuan Vietsaid since 2014, after the Prime Minister issued a decision approving themaster plan for development of Moc Chau national tourist site to 2020, with avision to 2030, the provincial People's Council has issued many specificresolutions with policies to support community-based tourism development.

People of Moc Chau and Van Ho districtshave proactively implemented projects to develop community-based tourism hamletsby renovating housing premises, arranging and decorating rooms with traditionalcultural features of ethnic groups, developing culinary services to ensure foodhygiene and safety, and producing traditional agricultural products based onthe application of clean production technology to serve sustainable tourismdevelopment. The People's Committees of the two districts also regularly organisetraining courses to improve vocational skills for tourism, guide the communityon professional skills in promoting and marketing tourism products. As a result,Moc Chau has emerged as a bright spot in community tourism, Viet added.

As for the renowned resort township of SaPa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, the township has prioritisedbudget resources for implementing projects to preserve and promote the culturalvalues of ethnic minorities in the locality.

However, according to experts, doingtourism activities in many places are still spontaneous, and lacking skills andexperiences in organisation and operation, especially limited foreign languageskills. Therefore, for community-based tourism to be successful, it isnecessary to have investment policies for people, through improving thecommunity’s skills and capacity apply learned knowledge scientifically andflexibly to serve tourists.

They said that the active participation oflocal people in tourism development is essential, because the local communityis the determining factor in the cultural environment, lifestyle, and identityof the destination - important features that attract tourists. Therefore, todevelop community-based tourism, preserving and promoting indigenous values isa decisive issue, they added./.