Risk management for foreign backpackers in ho chi minh city graduation paper

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES _ GRADUATION PAPER RISK MANAGEMENT FOR FOREIGN BACKPACKERS IN HO CHI MINH CITY Bachelor of Foreign Languages STUDENT’S NAME: LÊ THẢO VY ADVISER : TRẦN QUANG MINH, Ph.D STUDENT’S CODE: 15DH710105 COURSE : 2015 - 2019 18th, June 2019 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES APPROVAL SHEET This Thesis RISK MANAGEMENT FOR FOREIGN BACKPACKERS IN HO CHI MINH CITY Prepared and submitted by LE THAO VY is hereby recommended for approval and acceptance as a requirement for the degree Bachelor of Foreign Languages PANEL OF EXAMINERS Accepted by the Defense Committee with Total Score: Approved as a requirement for the degree: Bachelor of Foreign Languages I Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D ACKNOWLEDGEMENT As I have been studying at the Department of Foreign Languages, HUFLIT university, I have received a lot of valuable experiences When choosing selective subjects, I realized that I have strong enthusiasm to tourism Therefore, I chose this topic despite the fact that my main major is interpretation and translation The whole process has helped me achieve this work First, I would like to express my thanks, respect, and gratefulness to my beloved advisor Dr Tran Quang Minh for his valuable support, his excellent guidance and precious advice to help me detail by detail in completion of this thesis This research has been completed after six months of researching There may be some shortcomings after applying the thesis into reality due to the required respondents may not be from countries all over the world The review and comment on my thesis from the lecturers and the panel of examiners are priceless and help me to make this study be more valuable Last but not least, I would like to express my gratefulness to my friends who helped me through the distributing questionnaire process, my classmates, and my parents who always motivate and encourage me to complete this thesis II Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D AUTHENTICITY I would like to undertake that the graduation thesis on the topic of " Risk Management for foreign backpackers in Ho Chi Minh City " is my personal research, not copy from anyone I take all responsibility for my report! Ho Chi Minh City, June 18th, 2018 Author Le Thao Vy III Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D ABSTRACT This Graduation Paper discusses risk management for foreign backpackers in Ho Chi Minh City As backpacking has been a worldwide trend for not only the young but also for the elder recently Ho Chi Minh City is a place where backpackers usually choose to be their traveling destination due to its unique characteristics However, there are some problems faced by many preceders that are necessary to be solved to keep the image of Ho Chi Minh City tourism Most of the problems mentioned are related to deception and robbery, unsafe and unhealthy foods as well as the traffic jam incident in this area This is due to the lack of awareness of many local people, and the mismanagement from the authorities that might cause a lot of fear for the backpackers The author will apply a quantitative method to conduct this research Foreign backpackers in Ho Chi Minh City are the main subject Hard-copy and electronic questionnaires then are going to be distributed among foreign backpacker community and collected by the author After the process of data collection and analysis Recommendations will be provided to solve the problems that foreign backpackers usually face while traveling to Ho Chi Minh City IV Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL SHEET I ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II AUTHENTICITY III ABSTRACT IV TABLE OF CONTENTS V LIST OF TABLES: IX LIST OF FIGURES: IX LIST OF CHARTS: IX CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of The Problem 1.2 Problem Identification 1.2.1 International Situation 1.2.2 Situation in Vietnam 1.2.3 Situation in Ho Chi Minh City 1.3 Significance and Usefulness of the Topic 1.4 Research Objectives 1.5 Research Organization V Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 An Introduction to Travel and Tourism 2.1.1 The Definitions of “Tourism” 2.1.2 The importance of tourism 2.1.3 The Difference Between Travel and Tourism 10 2.1.4 Travel and tourism in the present 11 2.2 Backpacking Tourism 12 2.2.1 The Evolution of Backpacking Tourism 12 2.2.2 Who are the backpackers? 13 2.2.3 The Advantages of Backpacking 15 2.2.4 The Disadvantages of Backpacking 16 2.3 Backpackers in Ho Chi Minh City 17 2.3.1 What foreigners think about Ho Chi Minh City? 18 2.4 The Difficulties Backpackers Face in Ho Chi Minh City 18 2.4.1 The Environment 18 2.4.1.1 Traffic Jam 18 2.4.1.2 Pollution 20 2.4.1.3 Plastic Trash and Garbage 20 2.4.2 Unhealthy foods 20 2.4.3 Scam and Robbery 22 2.5 Conceptual Framework 23 2.6 Research Questions 24 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 25 VI Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D 3.1 Research Method 25 3.2 Subject of Research 25 3.3 Scope of Research 26 3.3.1 Ho Chi Minh City 26 3.3.2 District 27 3.3.3 District 28 3.3.4 District 29 3.3.5 District 30 3.3.6 District 31 3.3 Respondents 32 3.4 Statistics of The Respondents Taking Part In The Survey 32 3.5 Data Gathering Procedure 32 3.6 Data Collection Tool 32 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 33 4.1 Results 33 4.1.1 General Information 33 4.1.1.2 Data Analysis 33 4.1.2 Main Information 42 4.1.2.1 Statistics of Data Analysis 42 Table 5: General assessment of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism 42 Table 6: Food assessment in Ho Chi Minh City 42 Table 8: Fraud assessment in Ho Chi Minh City 43 Table 9: Environment assessment in Ho Chi Minh City 44 VII Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D Table 10: Opinions from backpackers and travellers 45 4.1.2.2 Data Analysis 46 4.2 Discussion 62 4.2.1 Analysis of Research Questions 62 4.2.1.1 Analysis of Research Question 62 4.2.1.2 Analysis of Research Question 64 4.2.1.3 Analysis of Research Question 66 4.2.1.3 Analysis of Research Question 68 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 70 CONCLUSION 70 RECOMMENDATIONS 76 REFERENCES 81 APPENDIX: Questionnaire 86 VIII Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D LIST OF TABLES: Table 2: Public attack considered to be the threat for international travellers and affected on tourism industry Table 3: Embarrassing incidents badly influenced on Vietnam tourism industry Table 4: Embarrassing incidents badly influenced on Vietnamese tourism industry Table 5: General assessment of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism 42 Table 6: Food assessment in Ho Chi Minh City 42 Table 8: Fraud assessment in Ho Chi Minh City 43 Table 9: Environment assessment in Ho Chi Minh City 44 Table 10: Opinions from backpackers and travellers 45 LIST OF FIGURES: Figure 1: Map of Ho Chi Minh City 26 Figure 2: Map of District in Ho Chi Minh City 27 Figure 3: Map of District in Ho Chi Minh City 28 Figure 3: Map of District in Ho Chi Minh City 29 Figure 4: Map of District in Ho Chi Minh City 30 Figure 5: Map of District in Ho Chi Minh City 31 LIST OF CHARTS: Chart 1: Foreign backpacker's sex and nationality to HCMC 33 IX Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D RECOMMENDATIONS To bring the research come to the completion, the author would like to suggest some solutions and recommendations to the readers, foreign backpackers, tourist, and local people To create better living standard in rural areas Ha Noi – the capital of Viet Nam and Ho Chi Minh are among the largest areas of Viet Nam The infrastructure in the two cities are no doubt increasing every year to serve the need of citizens and the migrants Infrastructure in rural areas like in the middle of Viet Nam The people in the middle of Viet Nam have to face many difficulties every year such as flood, poverty, hunger, etc In December 11th, 2018 In Quang Tri and Hue (2 provinces of the central Viet Nam), people were found dead, people were missing 23.00 houses were drown with cattle and poultries because of the floods This incident happens almost every year Many children in the central Viet Nam not have the opportunities to go to school properly due to severe conditions Having witnessed and heard a lot from the media about the bad situations The author firstly propose that the local government authorities should enhance the infrastructure, amenities to serve education, street and housing facilities in these locations Secondly, regulating the local authority system is a must since the bribery rate in Viet Nam is among the highest (85,61%) according to Numbeo.com This will help to donate more money in the building budget Lastly, encourage children to go to school There are many families that not have enough money to go to school Providing educational access 76 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D like gratitude schools from kindergarten to university should be built to facilitate the youths learning If a generation has qualities and knowledge, they will serve a country well with the good manners and push tourism forward As long as the living standards in rural areas are improved The number of internal migration moving to Ho Chi Minh City will be reduced, and this will help to solve the overpopulation problem To enhance food safety Unhealthy and unsafe foods are a nightmare to people Local people and food sellers should preserve foods in hygiene storage and take steps in food cleaning procedure after purchasing from the markets More importantly, food sellers must wear gloves while preparing foods To the foreign backpackers, only searching for trusted street foods areas to eat on the internet For example, Foody.vn and Tripadvisor.com are two particular websites to search for reviews and trusted restaurants and street foods To the government and local authorities, they should impose a fine or tax on restaurants selling unhealthy foods and dirty street foods area are absolute must Additionally, unclean food transfer firms should be banned to protect local people and foreigners To build charity houses and create job opportunities for beggars and the homeless Beggars are so popular in Ho Chi Minh City that it is easily to wander around Ho Chi Minh City without seeing one This is an unwanted but important issue that may have significant possibility to devalue the image of tourism in Ho Chi Minh City It would seem that building more charity houses will solve the problem of beggar wandering around the City and 77 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D annoy the travellers Social welfare security should take care of these people by create job chances for the one who are still be able to work Jobs such as sewing, kitting, or massaging for customers like the service in district 10 Ho Chi Minh City (Anh Duong Spa – where the disabilities massaging service) should be given to the beggars and homeless Not only the methods will settle the challenge, but also build an image of a developing and caring city in the eyes of the foreigners To protect the environment A variety of aspects are effected by the polluted environment Tourism is not an exception The overpopulation has increased the number of motorbike and car registration so as the amount of emission released The first act is to restrict the number of migrants Then, encouraging people to use public transportation to reduce the amount of pollution and traffic jam Plastic waste is another problem of environment Local authorities and people should take step to clean every area Laws should be enacted to fine those littering on the streets For example, if a person throws a single plastic cup on the street, they will be fined for about 200.000 VND Little things like straw, and nylon bags, etc should be replaced with eco-friendly materials For instance, according to Tuoitrenews, edible rice-flour straws were invented and used in Japan, South Korea, and some European countries to help protect the environment Viet Nam is also on their way of imitating the methods, although the news is now widespread enough The local authorities should expand the news to every corner of Ho Chi Minh City about using edible straws and bring their own fabric bags every time they buy products It is believed that the amount of plastic waste will be reduced at no time 78 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D To promote security Scams are everywhere on the street and services Outside of raising awareness of the local people, the authorities should set aside a certain amount of money to install surveillance cameras throughout the streets around the city Especially the places where are crowded and the foreigners usually come Then, set up a team to regularly check to prevent foreign backpackers from unwanted circumstances To improve infrastructure Unfinished and redundant block houses, and floods on the streets in raining season has always been a challenge to Ho Chi Minh City tourism The author thinks that local authorities should promote the building process to remove the blockhouse, especially in Go Vap, and Binh Thanh In terms of floods in Ho Chi Minh City, the government should confirm the requests from local people to elevate the roadbed so that the flood cannot bother people and vehicles driving on the streets To Encourage local people to participate in local tourism activities The government should have the local people train and acknowledge the importance of tourism and create favourable conditions for local people to know how to behave with foreigners and others and join in tourism activities so that they can all take part in protecting the environment They also need to be educated the sense of maintaining heritage and sightseeing destinations of a city This can be trained as a tradition of a country throughout generations Not only these practice manners of local people, but also make a country be proud of a decent and attractive city 79 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D Limitation and Suggestions for Future Research There are some challenges that will influence on the quality of the study such as time limitation, English ability of the author, and the lack of documents relating to the topic The author of this research would like to propose to future researchers that they should pay attention to the needs of foreign backpackers more And, looking for a considerable number respondents of foreign travellers with or companions are necessary because they are not easily to find and approach 80 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D REFERENCES [1] (UNWTO), W T (2017) 2017 Annual Report World Tourism Organiazation Retrieved on 19/03/2019 from: https://www2.unwto.org/publication/unwto-annual-report-2017 [2] Ahmed, O (2016) The history of backpacking Retrieved on 19/03/20199 from SlideShare: https://www.slideshare.net/OmarAhmed137/the-history-ofbackpacking-omar-ahmed [3] Baker, Bradley, & Huyton (1996) In Principles of hotel front office operations Hospitality Press Pty Ltd [4] BBC (2010, November 22) Hundreds killed in Cambodian festival stampede Retrieved on 19/03/2019 from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11814894 [5] BBC (2014) Bomb Blast at Central Bangkok Shrine Retrieved on 19/03/2019 from 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I GOT ROBBED IN VIETNAM Retrieved on28/03/2019 from: https://www.vido.wiki/video/gc21mRVJMPQ/elizabeth-travels.html [19] Eoghan MacGuire, Alexander Smith, Andrew Blankstein, Jason Cumming (2017, May 23) Manchester Arena suicide bombing: 22 die at Ariana Grande concert Retrieved on 25/03/2019 from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/22/serious-incident-at-uksmanchester-stadium-during-concert-where-loud-bang-heard.html [20] Filek-Gibson, D (2017, August 22) Tourism Businesses Are Trying to Clean up Vietnam Retrieved on 28/03/2019 from Saigoneer: https://saigoneer.com/vietnam-travel/11013-tourism-businesses-aretrying-to-clean-up-vietnam 82 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D [21] Franklin (2003) In Tourism: An Introduction (p 22) SAGE [22] Galloway, L (2017, 27) Living in: Ho Chi Minh City Retrieved on 01/04/2019 from BBC Travel: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170317-living-in-h-ch-minh-city [23] Goldenberg & Martin (2007) In Hiking and backpacking (p 22) Wilderness Education Association [24] Guterres (2017) UNWTO Annual Report Retrieved on 01/04/2019 from http://tourlib.net/wto/WTO_annual_report_2017.pdf [25] Hannam & Diekmann (2010) In Beyond backpacker tourism: mobilities and experiences Bristol: Short run Press Ltd [26] HARVEY-JENNER, C (2017, November 16) Two female backpackers have been found dead in a Cambodian hostel Retrieved on 01/04/2019 from Cosmopolitan: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a13768748/natalieseymour-abbey-gail-amisola-backpackers-found-dead-cambodianhostel/ [27] Higgins, Ryan G (2009) In Negotiating the middle: Interaction of class, gender and consummerism among the middle class in Ho Chi Minh City University of Arizona [28] Hornby & Wehmeier, etl (n.d.) 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The Hippie Movement Retrieved on 04/04/2019 from http://www.florian-kunkel.de/fa.pdf [33] Lrain90 (2015) Stolen passport in Vietnam Retrieved on 28/03/2019 from Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopicg293921-i8432-k7885883-Stolen_Passport_in_VietnamVietnam.html [34] Marques, M (2017, December 11) ways in which technology has changed the way we travel Retrieved on 01/04/2019 from Medium: https://medium.com/hijiffy/6-ways-in-which-technology-havechanged-the-way-we-travel-f37f7b8c307e [35] Nguyen, D (2018) Mưa lũ miền Trung làm người chết, 23.000 nhà bị ngập Retrieved on 10/04/2019 from Zing News: https://news.zing.vn/mua-lu-o-mien-trung-lam-6-nguoi-chet-23000ngoi-nha-bi-ngap-post899436.html [36] Nguyen, K T (n.d.) Retrieved from: https://e.vnexpress.net/projects/foreign-tourists-keep-flocking-tovietnam-but-whether-they-come-back-is-another-story3636728/index.html [37] Nguyen, N (n.d.) 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Retrieved on 19/04/2019 from Facts and Details: http://factsanddetails.com/southeastasia/Vietnam/sub5_9f/entry-3464.html [44] Tung, M (2015, September 28) Eastern HCMC facing overpopulation Retrieved on 19/04/2019 from Thesaigontimes: https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/43249/Eastern-HCMC-facingoverpopulation.html [45] UNWTO (2007) What is tourism Retrieved on 19/04/2019 from: https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/gamification-and-socialmedia-as-tools-for-tourism-promotion/30288 [46] (2016) Viet Nam Migration Profile 2016 Vietnam [47] Vietnamese firm makes edible rice-flour straws to help protect environment (2019) Retrieved on 22/04/2019 from Tuoi Tre News: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20190214/vietnamese-firmmakes-edible-riceflour-straws-to-help-protectenvironment/48930.html [48] Wahab & Pigram (1997) In Tourism, development and growth: The challenge of sustainability (p 24) Routledge [49] Weston, S (2015, September 14) The Growing Importance of Travel & Tourism to the Global Economy Retrieved from: https://www.hotelspeak.com/2015/09/growing-importance-traveltourism-global-economy/ [50] World, B (n.d.) EAST COAST PACKAGES Retrieved on 22/04/2019from https://backpackersworld.com/package-deals/ [51] WTTC (2017) Ho Chi Minh City Travel and Tourism Impact Ho Chi Minh City: Oxford Economics 85 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D APPENDIX: Questionnaire Questionnaire My name is Le Thao Vy I am a 4th year student of the Department of Foreign Language at Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages – Information Technology (HUFLIT) As I am doing a research on risk management for foreign backpackers in Ho Chi Minh City, I would like to invite you to answer this questionnaire It will take you only minutes to complete this questionnaire I really appreciate you for your kindness and attention I assure that your responses will be completely anonymous Thank you very much for your cooperation! General Information Are you? A Male B Female C Other Nationality A American B British C Australian D Korean E Indian F Chinese G Japanese H German A Other: Your age is? 86 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D A Less than 25 B Between 25 and 39 C Between 40 and 55 D Over 55 Are you? A A Student B A Worker C A retired person B Other: How much money can you spend on backpacking in Ho Chi Minh City? A Less than $200 B $200 – $300 C More than $300 What’s the purpose of traveling? A Leisure B Business C Meeting friends and family C Other: How many times have you backpacked to Ho Chi Minh City? A Once B Twice C Three times D More than three times How long have you been a backpacker? A year B years 87 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D C More than years Why you choose to be a backpacker? A I can whatever I want B I want to experience activities that guided tours not have C I want to communicate with local people more D Other: 10 How long is your trip? D Within a week E Within weeks F Within weeks G Within weeks H Other: 88 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D Main Information Please indicate the level of content for the following statements by marking "✓" into the corresponding boxes as follows: Absolutely Disagree, 2: Disagree, 3: Normal, 4: Agree, 5: Absolutely Agree Scale General assessment of Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Ho Chi Minh City has many breath-taking sights Ho Chi Minh City is a multicultural city The Vietnamese people are very polite and friendly Food Assessment in Ho Chi Minh City Street food is delicious Street food is safe and healthy Most street foods sellers always use gloves to prepare food Most street foods sellers are nice and polite Most foods in famous restaurants recommended on media are not as delicious as street foods The street foods are sold with reasonable price The food in markets in Ho Chi Minh City are good It is comfortable while eating street foods in Ho Chi Minh City Fraud Assessment in Ho Chi Minh City Taxi drivers tend to overcharge travellers Hotel room rates are reasonable The quality of service in most hotels is good Hostels room rate are is reasonable The quality of service in most hostels is good Restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City are reliable The security in Ho Chi Minh City are reliable Goods and products in Ben Thanh Market are sold with reasonable prices Cyclo drivers in Ho Chi Minh City are reliable Nightclubs are convenient areas for robbery to snatch valuables Contents 89 Student: Le Thao Vy Adviser: Tran Quang Minh, Ph D Beggars are popular in Ho Chi Minh City The travel agents in Ho Chi Minh City sell sightseeing ticket for tourist with reasonable price Environment Assessment in Ho Chi Minh City The population in Ho Chi Minh City is so crowded The air in HCMC is clean and fresh Crossing the streets in Ho Chi Minh City is safe There are too many vehicles in Ho Chi Minh City Too many vehicles cause the pollution in Ho Chi Minh City Smoke exhausted from vehicles makes travellers feel tired in HCMC The infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City is comfortable It is uncomfortable to walk on the streets without a mask Plastic Trash and garbage are everywhere on the rivers and the roads Ho Chi Minh City has heavy traffic in rush hours which is inconvenient to travel Opinions From Backpackers and Travellers I will come back Ho Chi Minh City Backpacking in Ho Chi Minh City is more interesting than using guided tours I prefer travelling independently to using tourist guide services 90