A research to assess community ecotourism and suggestions of solutions for sustainable tourism development in Van Don District, Quang Ninh province

Tourism is nowadays becoming a indispensable need in the socioeconomy all around the world. Tourism activities is rapidly developing and becoming an important economic sector of many countries. Tourism is called a “nonsmoke industry” due to the huge income from its activities. In the ecofriendly orientation, sustainable development and response to global climate change of the economic sectors, the tourism industry has emerged some tourism forms associated with environmental protection, such as ecotourism, country tourism, community tourism ...

A research to assess community eco-tourism and suggestions of solutions for sustainable tourism development in Van Don District, Quang Ninh province Ngô Hải Ninh Viện Việt Nam học Khoa học Phát triển Luận văn Thạc sĩ Chuyên ngành: Việt Nam học; Mã số: 60 31 60 Người hướng dẫn: GS TSKH Trương Quang Học Năm bảo vệ: 2011 Keywords Du lịch sinh thái; Du lịch bền vững; Vân Đồn; Quảng Ninh Content INTRODUCTION Aims of the study *Rationale of the study Tourism is nowadays becoming a indispensable need in the socio-economy all around the world Tourism activities is rapidly developing and becoming an important economic sector of many countries Tourism is called a “non-smoke industry” due to the huge income from its activities In the eco-friendly orientation, sustainable development and response to global climate change of the economic sectors, the tourism industry has emerged some tourism forms associated with environmental protection, such as eco-tourism, country tourism, community tourism As a result, the study of the development of this tourism type is essential Located about 40 kilometers from Ha Long city (Quang Ninh province), Van Don is known as one of the attractive landscape for eco-tourism of Quang Ninh In the overall plan for tourism development of Quang Ninh, period 2000-2010, Van Don was identified as one of four key areas to develop tourism In particular, the Prime Minister has delivered the Decision No 786/QD-TTg dated 07.26.2007 on the approval of the project "Development of socio-economic in Van Don Economic Zone in 2020 and a vision to 2030", which focuses on "Building the general economy of the island district of Van Don to be a high-quality resort island." With the natural tourism resources and rich human history along with a long history of tradition, Van Don Island district has great potentials to develop tourism, especially community ecotourism In fact, the inner strength of Van Don has not been effectively made advantage; people of the island have a low living standard Though the living standard of many communes is being improved and income from tourism development is increased, the risk of poverty again hasn’t disappeared due to the unsustainable tourism investment and development It can be said that natural conditions, the issue of human resources and infrastructure are three fundamental elements which have a direct effect on the economic value from tourism The communes who have potentials to develop ecotourism face difficulties due to limited power system and fresh water for people and for tourists In addition, the local community doesn’t often take part in tourism activities, economic benefits is low and unusual, depending largely on the tourist season The form of participation of the local people almost spontaneous, stem from the rule of supply demand (That is when the tourists need something, people see the revenues from that service to improve their life, therefore, they participate actively) For the purpose of investment in tourism development, the area of agriculture and aquaculture production is becoming narrow Consequently, solving jobs for local people is more and more urgent From the above fact, the author courageously chosen the study: "A research to assess community eco-tourism and suggestions of solutions for sustainable tourism development in Van Don District, Quang Ninh province" as my master's degree graduation study, major Vietnam, in the hope of contribution to the sustainable tourism development particularly in Van Don district and generally Quang Ninh province *Scientific significance of the study The results of the study contributes to further clarify the concepts of ecotourism, community tourism, sustainable tourism development - a development has multiple meanings and prospects in Vietnam nowadays *Practical significance of the study - Communities eco-tourism model towards sustainable development proposed in the thesis can be applied to improve the quality and effectiveness of current tourism activities in Van Don and to further research and build a model community ecotourism towards sustainable development in Van Don district, Quang Ninh province - The results of the thesis can be used as a reference for other districts in similar situations of this field Background There have been so far many scientific articles, documents and research of the author to write about Van Don, Quang Ninh, but most of them are historical studies, folklores and coastal people to praise the natural beauty of this place Several master theses refer to the object of their studies as tourism contributing to tourism development in Van Don, but they only focus on the potentials and policies to develop the planned functional tourism areas The study on community ecotourism associated with objective of sustainable development is a branch new research which has never done before yet Object and scope of the study - Object of the study + Ecotourism potentials in Van Don District + Community ecotourism activities being done in Van Don District towards a sustainable development + Local people who are living in the areas belong to the planned ecotourism in Van Don District - Scope of the study + Place: Inner town of Cai Rong, areas along coast in Ha Long District, islands of Minh Chau, Quan Lan, Ba Mun, Ngoc Vung in Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province + Time: The research is done in years, from 2009 to 2011 Study methodology and methods 4.1 Methodology 4.2 Methods Thesis has used the following research methods: - Methods of collection and analysis of documents and data: The author has conducted collecting published documents, data, work and; studies, magazines, books, internet; documents delivered by travel agents; reports of People's Committee of Van Don district over the years, updated data on tourism activities by the Culture and Information Office of Van Don district, Bai Tu Long National Park - On - Field Survey Methods: This method is used to investigate the synthesis of natural conditions, economic and social subjects to supplement, modify and update the latest information Also, the direct surveys locally helps author the thoroughly evaluate of the current eco-tourism activities in the local community, which will be a factual basis to help the author propose some solutions for tourism development in line with local condition Surveys on the studied area were divided into three phases: Phase (from late December to early January 2010), Phase (from June 24 to June 30, 2011); Stage (end of September 2011) - Methods of Sociological Investigation: The author interviewed experts, got ideas from some experts in tourism activities in the district of Van Don to serve as basis for the comments, remarks of the thesis; In addition, interviewing and questionnaire survey conducted with 100 questionnaire papers delivered to the local people involved in tourism activities in Van Don (Minh Chau commune, Quan Lan commune ) 100 questionnaire papers were given to visitors to Van Don Moreover, the author also carried out some live interviews with the waiters, waitresses, receptionists and other staff at hotels and resorts in Van Don Summing up the results of interviews and questionnaires, the author will have a basis for proposals contributed to the complete the sustainable community eco-tourism development in Van Don Expert Consultation : Get consultation of local and national managers and professors in tourism The structure of thesis Apart from the introduction (7 pages), conclusion (4 pages), list of abbreviations, list of tables, list of references and appendices, the main contents of the thesis consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: Theoretical basis of community eco-tourism towards sustainable development (18 pages) Chapter 2: Status and potentials of community ecotourism activities in Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province(46 pages) Chapter 3: Suggested solutions for sustainable community ecotourism development in Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province (20 pages) CHAPTER THEORETICAL BASIS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1.1 OF COMMUNITY ECOTOURISM TOWARDS Ecotourism In the developed countries, the type of ecotourism is well developed, typically as European Community (EU), United States, Canada, Australia Ecotourism has been developed in the developing countries: Nepal, Kenya, Thailand, Malaysia, some regions in China and Central America They have successfully built the ecotourism models, such as Ecomost of the EU (European Community Models of Sustainable Tourism), ecotourism villages of Austria, Huangshan model in China, community-based ecotourism model in Nepal Since late 1990, Ecotourism has caused the attention at the national level with the participation of large organizations such as the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism; IUCN With the financial support from international organizations, Vietnam has opened many training courses, seminars on ecotourism However, this work mainly focuses on national parks and natural conservation areas such as: Cuc Phuong, Cat Ba, Ba, Ba Vi, Bach Ma There have been many agencies and individuals with emphasis on research and application of ecotourism in Vietnam Thus, living environment of plants and animals, air quality, water quality and soil environment had unbeneficial changes with the life of plants and animals and humans because of tourist activities Therefore, the development of ecotourism forms requires the strict management and diminution of the negative impacts of tourism on the ecological environment to ensure sustainable development objectives 1.2 Community-based tourism For tourism, community tourism form contributes to diversify tourism products, attract tourists and protect tourism resources For the community, community tourism has equitable distribution of benefits from tourism activities for the participants, including local community Community tourism brings economic benefits to the community members participating directly to provide services to tourists, and the whole community will benefit from the contribution of tourism activities on the local environment, society economy and culture Community tourism is only developed in a condition that the destination has rich and pristine natural tourism resources and unique human and distinctive tourism resources At the same time, community tourism must possess strong traditional cultural values reflecting the ethnic characteristics, and especially they must have right responsibility recognition on tourism development and resource conservation 1.3 Sustainable Tourism Development Since the early 90s, scientists around the world have referred to tourism development for the pure economic purpose causing threat to ecological environment and local culture The consequences of this impact will affect to the long-term development of the tourism industry Therefore, the requirement of study on "Sustainable Tourism Development" is appeared to limit the negative impacts of tourism activities to ensure the long-term development Some forms of tourism initially interested in environmental aspects have begun to appear, such as: ecotourism, community-based tourism, exploration tourism, adventure tourism that has helped raise image of a direction of tourism development with responsibility, ensuring sustainable development Currently, in the process of knowledge unity, the concept of sustainable tourism development still has much differences, especially the point of view as perspective of sustainable tourism development should ensure the principles of resource, environmental and cultural conservation with the view that the leading principle of sustainable tourism development is economic growth brought by tourism Economic perspective that the main interest for the development of tourism profits; "Sustainable tourism is the tourism activities in which there is sustained growth in a determined time period" However, this concept is subject to much criticism scientists, especially researchers on environmental resources Thus, sustainable tourism development is a subsidiary of sustainable development identified by Brundtlant Commission in 1987 The focus of sustainable tourism development is to struggle for balance between socio-economic objectives and conservation of resources, environment and community culture as to increase tourist’s satisfaction of increasingly high and diversified demand This balance may change over time, when there is a change in the social rules, the conditions to ensure the ecological environment and development of science and technology Although the approach ensuring sustainable tourism development must be based on the balance of environmental resources with a unified planning Sustainable tourism in Vietnam is still a new concept But, through the lessons and experience of tourism development in many countries in the region and the world, awareness of a tourism development method with responsible for the environment, effective to teach, educate, raise awareness to the community have appeared in Vietnam in the form of various types of sightseeing, learning, studying tours with the name "Community Ecotourism" " Ecotourism" Sub-conclusion of Chapter Chapter of the study has solved three problems: Theoretical basis; factual basis of the type of community ecotourism and sustainable development in general and sustainable tourism development in particular In the theoretical basis, the author has emphasized the concept of ecotourism, community tourism and sustainable tourism development as a theoretical foundation for the study The author has also pointed out the meaning, principles and conditions for the community-based tourism development, besides; the author has also referred to the characteristics, purpose and relationships between local community and tourism work In practical basis, the author has made the development model and the lessons learned with two examples in Thailand and Nepal, two countries well known to operate community-based ecotourism That is the basis of the premise for the analysis of potential and actual situation of community ecotourism development in Van Don district towards sustainable development which will be presented in Chapter Based on a diagram of the development model of the two countries on which the author can build community ecotourism development model towards sustainable development for the study subjects in Chapter CHAPTER STATUS AND POTENTIALS OF COMMUNITY ECOTOURISM ACTIVITIES IN VAN DON DISTRICT, QUANG NINH PROVINCE 2.1 General introduction to Van Don district 2.1.1 Geographic site Located in the northernmost area of Vietnam and Mong Cai international border gate in the southwest border of China about 120 km, Van Don is a mountainous island district located in the southeastern of Quang Ninh province, with coordinates from 20o40' to 21o12' north latitude and from 107o19' to 107o42' east longitude Geographical location of Van Don district is specified: Bordering to the north and northeastern with Tien Yen and Dam Ha district, bordering to the East with Co To district and Bai Tu Long Bay, bordering to the west with Cam Pha township, bordering to the south of Tonkin Gulf 2.1.2 Area Van Don district has a total area of 2,171.33 km2, of which the natural land area of 551.33 km2, 1620 km2 of the open sea Island District includes 11 communes and one town of Cai Rong The district has a total of 600 islands in Bai Tu Long Bay, which has more than 20 resided islands The largest island is Cai Bau with width of 17,212 ha, including Cai Rong town as the economic, political and social center of the district and communes: Dong Xa, Ha Long, Van Yen, Doan Ket, Binh Dan, and Dai Xuyen Van Hai Islands have five communes of Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung, Thang Loi and Ban Sen 2.1.3 Population and population distribution As of 31/12/2009, Van Don district had a population of 41,081 people, 9,130 households, with nine ethnic groups: Kinh, Tay, Nung, Dao, Muong, San Diu, Cao Lan, Hoa, and Than Sin coexisting in harmony, in which, the Kinh accounts for 88.6%, other ethnic groups account for 11.4% The population distribution is not uniform across 20 islands, in 80 communes and villages, the most densely in Cai Bau island and Quan Lan Island Population density: 75.4 people per km2 Population is concentrated on a number of communes (most populous as Dong Xa, over 9,000 people), the rest is scattered over the island communes, Minh Chau commune had the least population of 900 people (2009 figures) 2.2 The potential for community ecotourism in Van Don, Quang Ninh 2.2.1 The potential of the topography and geology for tourism Karst limestone topography interspersed with soil islands is the outstanding universal value of the topography, geology in Van Don - Bai Tu Long zone, conical Karst towers are common in Bai Tu Long bay, developing limestone island landscape, and it is a region having international significance on Karst landscape, as the basis of geomorphological science Marine erosion of limestone islands is the features, over the period of erosion; many islands have been forming the narrow spikes There is the cave formation process lasted from the start with the existence of an aggressive basis to this day The topography of Van Don is very diverse with mountains, sea, stone island, soil islands with pools, tidal and mangrove coastal flats The types of terrain have created for natural ecological landscapes of Van Don particularly attractive characteristics 2.2.2 Climate potential The climate of Van Don has features of a tropical climate with two seasons: summer and winter, the average annual temperature is between 22 – 24oC Van Don is located the monsoon region from March to August, Southeast winds blowing in from the sea to make it cool, the winter is directly affected by the cold and dry northeast monsoon (NPc) Van Don has many sub-climate regions, high radiation, more fog, rain and wind storms Average annual rainfall is 2,000 mm, the rainy season is from May to October (in rainy season, it reaches 2,225 mm) Annual average humidity is 84%, 70%in the dry season and lower The dangerous weather phenomena such as thunderstorm, high winds not occur as much as the lowland and midland This climate condition is very favorable for development of tourism such as resorts, beach, and ecological cultural and adventure tourism 2.2.3 Hydrographical, maritime potential for tourism Regarding flow: because the river systems are not big, in addition the coastline is sinuous and separated by mountains, so the influence of water current from rivers to the sea is great The flow here is mainly dominated tidal current, middle flow is usually narrow, with greater speed The largest river in the district is Voi Lon (19km long), because the river system is not big, so it normally lacks of water in the dry season, particularly affecting the daily life of people, especially communes in island Regarding hydration: the temperature of sea water is changed according to seasons, the highest is in the summer, and salinity of sea water is also changed according to seasons In winter water temperature is about 180C, the lowest temperature is in January; in summer water temperature is around 280C, the average annual water temperature fluctuates between 22 – 240C 2.2.4 Biodiversity potential for tourism Van Don has the advantage of environment assessed about biological value similar to Ha Long Bay Surrounding the islands of the district is a large fishery in the northern Gulf coast with beaches and coastal and mangrove areas making plentiful fishery and marine resources Ecosystem: Ecosystem of green broad-leaved tropical forests on limestone mountain;Ecosystem of broad-leaved forests on tropical mountain; Ecosystem of mangrove forestd; Ecosystem of coral reef; Ecosystem of sea plants; Ecosystem of farming valley on limestone mountain In short, biodiversity is a necessary factor to develop forms of tourism ecological Thus, conservation of biodiversity will help to ecotourism operation conditions for survival and development 2.2.5 Some of the typical tourism destinations - Soi Nhu Cave; Ha Giat cave; Ngoc Vung site; Cai De cave; Minh Chau Forest; Cat Quyt mangrove forest; Beach clusters of Minh Chau - Son Hao - Quan Lan - Ngoc Vung; Long Beach… 2.2.6 Humanity tourism resources Coming to Van Don, combining with visits to natural attractions, tourists have the opportunity to visit the ancient trading port of Van Don which was prosperous and crowded from ancient times As an area with wonder island system in sequence with the region of Ha Long long ago became the famous scenic spots of the country associated with tradition of Halong, Bai Tu Long Van Don has more than 600 large and small islands woven into the walls, the grill area of the country, a busy commercial port areas of the country since the period Ly - Tran (XI-XII century) Van Don is an outdoor geological museum, according to historic record of 19th Thien Hung year in the Tran dynasty,Van Don was established (with Binh Hai border pass) This is also the cradle of Ha Long culture, Soi Nhu culture Cai Beo culture, Thoi Gieng relic has thrived to become Ha Long culture The hallmarks of Ha Long culture are in numerous parts of the midland and northern delta 2.3 Current status of community ecotourism in Van Don 2.3.1 The main destinations The tourism destinations can be exploited in Van Don are areas with beautiful scenery: Long Beach, Soi Nhu, Cong Dong, Cong Tay, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung, Quan Lan Best known as Ba Mun National Forest, Hai Van beach, the ancient trading port of Van Don, Phuong Hoang island, Thuong Mai, Ha Mai In general, Van Don mountainous region creates parallel layers, each region with different landscape Van Don archipelago has main tourist routes in the North East North West, these routes have ecological scenery attracting tourists A number of other destinations associated with the historical development of Van Don over many dynasties, associated with the formation and development of Ha Long culture (4500 years ago) are: Ao Tien, Mat Rong dam, Fairy wells, Quan Lan communal house, Lam pagoda, Dat Nung tower, the citadel of Mac dynasty Although there are abundant resources of tourism, but the exploitation of these resources to create attractive tourism products for tourists is not an easy problem Currently, the exploiting tourism products are monotonous and poorly, not really have specific mark, not have professional nature To get a imagery with particular color, unforgettable impression to visitor during the next period, the tourism industry of Van Don needs to try to create special tourist products with their own specific characteristics 2.3.2 The facilities for tourism Staying service; Restaurant; Transport services; Additional services 2.3.3 International visitors Table 2.2 Annual number of international visitor to Van Don (period 2006-2010) (Unit:person) TT Year Item 2006 2007 2008 Total number of visitor 415.000 International visitor 2009 2010 241.600 276.000 286.500 350.000 1.500 2.119 2.750 3.500 5.500 (Source: Department of Culture and Information - Van Don District, 2011) Currently, a number of travel companies organize tour guiding visitor to tourism sites on the islands of Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ba Mun Tourists are mainly from the UK, France, Sweden They are very interested in wild, natural beauty of island resources, but they not appreciate the facilities invested for tourism development and limited awareness of local people To develop island ecotourism, it requires further consensus on many fronts: local authorities, tourism businesses and local people 2.3.4 Domestic visitors Table 2.3 Domestic visitor to Van Don (period 2006-2010) Year Number of visitor 2006 240,100 2007 273,881 2008 283,750 2009 310,500 2010 409,500 (Source: Department of Culture and Information - Van Don District, 2011) Domestic visitor to Van Don are mainly living in Quang Ninh, Ha Noi, and some northern provinces (Bac Ninh, Bac Giang Thai Nguyen ) A few come from Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces In addition, there is a number of overseas Vietnamese to Van Don in the form of family visit, official visitor organized by companies or meeting of the event Although this type of service does not meet the travel needs of visitors, tourism seasonality, on holiday weekends, the number of domestic tourists coming to Van Don to rest, relax, breathe fresh air is increasingly larger 2.3.5 Revenue on tourism Table 2.4 Tourism revenue of Van Don district (2006-2010) (Unit: Billion VND) Year 2006 Revenue 2007 2008 2009 2010 2,416 2,760 3,460 95,000 116,000 (Source: Department of Culture and Information - Van Don District, 2011) Social revenue from tourism of Van Don district has increased continuously since 2006, but in general, the total revenue does not commensurate with the potential for tourism According to annual economic situation report of Van Don district People's Committee, in tourism activity, many indicators have not achieved contribution progress to the local budget: guesthouse and hotel taxes, port charges, the other public service fees The main reason is that the tourism products in the district are poor, technical facilities are limited, several investment projects in tourism development are not implemented as scheduled The investment in infrastructure construction is incomplete and many island commune roads are unfinished In particular, the shortage of fresh water for daily life, no national power grid, no diverse communication systems are causes that must be addressed 2.3.6 The participation of the people, participants and forms of participation in tourism activities The tourism industry in Van Don district has attracted local people to participate in activities for tourists They work in the ecotourism areas, hotels, guesthouses with professional service works: reception, table, cooking, preparing beverages, transportation contributing to reducing unemployment and creating jobs for people Most tourists visiting the island are preferred social service type of staying with people households (homestay), this has implications for both tourists and the local people Tourists have conditions to contact, learn about the lifestyle, activities and culture of fishermen; people having rooms for tenants can increase revenue, create more jobs (Tourists may request additional services: transportation, cuisine and participating in daily work activities with local people) 2.3.7 The impact of tourism on local communities Sub-conclusion of Chapter Chapter has focused on the second and third research duties of the research is to analyze the potential and current activities of this type of tourism as a sustainable community in Van Don In prospective study, the author has mentioned factors playing an important role in ecotourism development: topography, climate, marine cultural, biodiversity and introduced a number of typical attractive destinations For the study of the current status of ecotourism operations in Van Don, the author has also outlined the development of tourism (tourists and tourism revenue, facilities, infrastructure, resources human resources ), with emphasis on the role and participation of local community in tourism in the area where they live, since then drawed the review on limitations of community ecotourism development in Van Don as well as the benefit sharing between tourism development and local community From the above analysis, it has provided the basis for the authors to offer a solution for sustainable development and building social model in a typical island ecotourism development community presented in detail in Chapter CHAPTER SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN VAN DON DISTRICT, QUANG NINH PROVINCE 3.1 The premises for tourism development orientation in Van Don On August, 13th 2004, the Prime Minister issued Decision No 145/QD-TTg on major orientations for socio-economic development in Northern key economic regions in 2010 with a vision to 2020 On May, 31st 2006, the Prime Minister issued Decision No 786/QD-TTg on approval of the project on socio-economic development of Van Don Economic Zone to 2020 with a vision to 2030 Decision No 120/2007/QD-TTg issued on July, 26th 2007 by the Prime Minister: "on establishment of working regulations of Van Don economic zone, Quang Ninh province" On December, 18th 2008, the Government issued the National Target Program to respond to climate change Currently, all the ministries and local governments are planning to implement the program The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has Decision on approving the National Target Program to respond to climate change, No 158/2008/QD-TTg, on 02/12/2008 by the Prime Minister In June 2009, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment passed "climate change scenarios for Vietnam." Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm, 2009 Planning on implementation of national strategies to prevent and mitigate natural disasters by 2020 Decision No.1296/QD-TTg on August, 19th 2009, by the Prime Minister on approving the planning on construction of Van Don economic zone, Quang Ninh province to 2020 and vision to 2030 Resolution of Vietnam Communist Party’s Congress IX, Resolution of Quang Ninh provincial Party’s Congress XI, Resolution of Van Don district Party’s Congress XXI Resolution No 08/NQ-TW on 30.11.2001 by Provincial Standing Committee on; "Renewal and Development of Quang Ninh tourism period 2001-2010 and implementation of the Prime Minister’s guidance in Decision No.97/QD-TTg on tourism development and the solutions of Van Don economic development " 3.2 Recommendations 3.2.1 Orientation of tourism development in Van Don With massive potential of ecotourism, Van Don needs to develop tourism associated with environmental protection Recommending the tourism businesses in the district must have commitment to environmental protection, limiting fish cages to minimize pollution of the marine environment But to exploit ecotourism potential efficiently in Van Don district, the district should have policies to encourage investors to develop resorts, tourism products here that tourism is associated landscape environment and community ecotourism There exists here Bai Tu Long National Park, with large area of primary forest distributed in both terrestrial and aquatic diversity, rich in biological resources should be conserved strictly and rigorously 3.2.2 Improvement of tourism legislation and policy system Community ecotourism is defined as a form of tourism towards sustainability, the form of tourism contributing to community development, hanger reduction and poverty alleviation, thus, creation of all favorable conditions to develop community-based ecotourism is done and must be done by tourism managers and local government Development policy is not only expressed in clear legal framework in tourism law or policy focusing on development in the administrative documents that must be practical in the particular policy 3.2.3 Training of local tourism human resources The fundamental mission of the direct community-based tourism activists is to introduce to tourists the local traditions and cultural identity; promote and exploit the natural conditions, facilities and resources of people, consume product, goods produced by local people for tourists, thereby increasing revenue, improving the material and spiritual life of people Human resources hold key positions in the development process, quality of services for tourists To ensure sustainable and efficient growth and development, it requires specific measures: Strengthening capacity of tourism managers; Implementing training on tourism profession and tourism management for staff performing management of tourism, culture and information; Implementing professional occupation training courses (table - room - bar - kitchen) on the areas of tourism services for employees working in the businesses in the tourism services; Planning long-term training with appropriate policies to build a team of professional staff for tourism development in the locality 3.2.4 Attraction of local community participation Initiatively building investment plans, encouraging local people to participate in the protection of natural resources and the stages in the service of community ecotourism; On the other hand, the training and raising awareness of the park management staff and community must have special attention Raising awareness to the community in areas of wild natural resources such as forests on islands, Bai Tu Long National Park so that people are not involved in forestry activities, logging, hunting of rare animals, exploiting valuable plants affecting natural resources 3.2.5 Improvement of environmental quality for tourism Presently, the issue of concern for the development of community-based ecotourism in Van Don district is environmental pollution, especially pollution from coal industrial exploitation and thermal power production of Cam Pha Town Besides, the development of many aquaculture models, cage services, and sea environment pollution Decline of aquatic resources, forest resources and ecological environment caused by unplanned mining is a major obstacle to community-based tourism development in Van Don The leaders at all levels should have a reasonable plan on the location and development goals, particularly when receiving the investment application for exploitation of fishery resources, investment in the basic construction in the district and surrounding areas In the implementation of the planning process, it should consider ways of using and exploiting resources towards sustainable development and for development of future generations 3.2.6 Enhancement of promotion, advertising of tourism product forms Promotion and advertising activity has become an indispensable part of a strategy to develop tourism products In order to promote tourism products effectively, provide information about tourism products community to tourists home and abroad extensively 3.2.7 Mainstreaming environmental and climate change issues into local tourism developmental strategies, plannings, plans and programs According to action plan to implement the objective program of the province and the tourism industry, in environmental protection and sustainable development, particularly related to climate change and biodiversity conservation, integrated, interdisciplinary approaches basing community, ecosystem needs to be thorough in all stages from policy planning to formulation and the implementation of plan on both content and organization 3.2.8 Proposal of sustainable community ecotourism development model in Minh Chau commune, Van Don and Quang Ninh Community-based ecotourism activity on the in Van Don district is developing but also fragmented, not in a methodical system, or in replication Most people join because they see a profit, can guarantee the life, but are not aware of their role in the tourism development of the province Based on the actual exploitation of tourism resources and draft regulations on community ecotourism activities in Minh Chau commune, Van Don district, the author would like to propose a cooperative model in this island, the model can be applied in other communes of Van Don district with similar natural conditions, to develop ecotourism forms in Van Don aimed at sustainable development in economic and social-cultural and ethical aspects, and help local community be more actively involved to improve their material and spiritual lives, increase income, access to social services, contributing significantly to achieve the objective of poverty alleviation in Van Don district Sub-conclusion of Chapter Chapter has solved focused research tasks of the essay is that it proposes some solutions for community ecotourism development in Van Don towards sustainable development direction In particular, the write has bravely proposed a sample model for community ecotourism development in a typical island district of Van Don, this model can be applied to develop tourism for other communes with the same potential conditions The recommendations mentioned to all subjects involved in ecotourism activities in Van Don is state management agency on tourism, local government, local community and tourist referred to orientate and ensure the sustainable development of future community ecotourism form before the changes of global climate, especially in coastal areas such as Van Don References IN VIETNAMESE Quang Ninh relic reservation committee (2003), ancient monuments of commercial port Van Don –Cái Làng port, Quan Lan Village, Van Don district city Le Huy Ba (2009), Ecological Tourism, Science and technology publishing house, HCM Dao Dinh Bac (Translated, 2001), tourism planning, Hanoi National University publishing house, HN Cao Duc Binh (1998), Van Don traditional and modern festival, Thesis of CultureScience master, Hanoi University of Culture Nguyen Huy Dung (2007), Community and management issues of nature conservation zone of Vietnam, Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi Ngo Quang Duy (2007), Tourism development in Van Don island, Quang Ninh, thesis of Tourism Master,College of Social Science and Humanit, Hanoi National University, hanoi The Dat (2004), Tourism and ecological tourism, Labour publishing house HN Ngo Van Dinh (2000), Bai Tu Long national garden, Culture-Art publishing house Hanoi Nguyen Thi Ha (2008), Typical traditional festivals of Quang Ninh, Information publishing house Hanoi 10 Truong Quang Hoc (2005), “Biodiversity and Conservation ", Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Hanoi 11 Truong Quang Hoc (2006), “Sustainable development” , Ministry of planning and investment Hanoi 12 Truong Quang Hoc (2007), “Climate change, Biodiversity in relationship with life and development of society” Environmental protection magazine, No 5/2007 Page.10-14 13 Truong Quang Hoc (2008), “From development to sustainable development: from the view point of education and scientific research” Proceedings of scientific conference Vietnam and the Institute of Development Studies Hanoi national university page.148-161 14 Truong Quang Hoc (2008), “Effect of climate change on nature and social life” Environmental protection magazine, No 6, Page 26-29 15 Truong Quang Hoc – Nguyen Duc Ngu (2009), “Increasing knowledge and protecting environment for seaside area” Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Hanoi 16 Trương Quang Hoc (2009), “Public awareness on climate change and environmental protection for the coastal zone” Environmental protection magazine, No 3/2009 17 Truong Quang Hoc (2009), Something needed to know about climate change, Science and technology publishing house HN 18 Truong Quang Hoc (2009), “Integration of environmental factors and climate change during the planning procedure” Hanoi International conference (date 11/11/2009) 19 Truong Quang Hoc (2010), “Biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development” National environment conference 2010 20 Nguyen Dinh Hoe, Vu Van Hieu (2001), Sustainable tourism, Hanoi National University publishing house, HN 21 Nguyen Dinh Hoe (2006), Environment and sustainable development, Vietnam National University, Hanoi publishing house, HN 22 Ha Thi Thu Hue (2006), Completing policy for developing ecological tourism zone of Van Don - Quang Ninh, Master thesis of Hanoi University of Commerce 23 Dinh Trung Kien (2004), Some tourism issues of Vietnam, National University, Hanoi publishing house, HN 24 Tourism bureau (2004), Proceedings of conference: Protecting environmental tourism, Hanoi 25 Nguyen Thi Mai Linh (2007), Human resource development for Quang Ninh tourism, Master thesis of tourism, College of Social Science and Humanity, Hanoi National University, hanoi 26 Pham Trung Luong (2002), Ecotourism, the theoretical issues and practical development in Vietnam, Education publishing house, HN 27 Nguyen Thi Luyen (2007), Practical guidance on some typical tourism destinations Quang Ninh, Information publishing house HN 28 Le Hong Ly (2000), About Quan Lan village traditions, Journal of Folklore (No 3), Page 29 Tran Minh, Traditional festivals Van Don, Quang Ninh monthly (2007), No 100, Page 10, 11 30 Dien Nam – Tran Nhuan Minh (1996), The unique festival in the province of Quang Ninh, Journal of folklore (No 3), Page 31 Le Thi Ngoan (2009), “Developing ecological tourism based on community at Van Don, Quang Ninh”, Master thesis, College of Social Science and Humanity, Hanoi National University, hanoi 32 Do Van Ninh (1971), Finding a trace of historical Van Don, Quang Ninh Information culture company 33 Do Van Ninh (1997), Van Don islands district, Van Don people committee 34 Do Van Ninh (2004), Old Commercial port of Van Don, Youth publishing house, HN 35 Ly Thanh Nguyen (2003), Van Don island district - great potential in tourism of Quang Ninh, Vietnam sea magazine (No October), Page 15 36 Social Scientific publishing house (1993), Dai Viet su ky toan thu (Complete Annals of Dai Viet), (Historical ministry translation), HN 37 Vo Que (2006), Community Tourism –theory and practice – Volume 1, Hanoi Science and Technology publishing house 38 Vo Quy (2005), Curriculum for Management of Zone conservation and buffer zones, Center for Research Resources and Environment, National University, HN 39 Vo Quy (2005), Ray of hope: the involvement of local communities in the protection of the Conservation Zone, Collection summary of the scientific work, National University, HN 40 Tran Duc Thanh (2003), Introduction in Tourism, National University publishing house, Hanoi 41 Ngo Duc Thinh (2000), Folklore of the coast, Ethnical Culture Publishing house, HN 42 Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2010), Report on national environmental-review environment in Vietnam Hanoi 43 Tran Quang Tue (Translated, 2010), Green Revolution and Sustainable Development, Youth publishing house, Ho Chi Minh city 44 Bui Thi Hai Yen (2007), tourismplanning, Education publishing house HN 45 Luu Hoang Yen (2008), Assessing the role of communities in the management and conservation of Cuc Phuong National Park, Master Thesis of environmental science and environmental protection, College of Social Science and Humanity, Hanoi National University, Hanoi 46 Quang Ninh People Committee (2000), Address of Quang Ninh (Volume 2, Volume 3), World publishing house HN 47 Van Don People Committee, Report on economic and social development of Van Don 2006 48 Van Don People Committee, Report on economic and social development of Van Don 2007 49 Van Don People Committee, Report on economic and social development of Van Don 2008 50 Van Don People Committee, Report on economic and social development of Van Don 2009 51 Van Don People Committee, Report on economic and social development of Van Don 2010 52 Van Don People Committee, Report on economic and social development of Van Don 2011 53 Van Don People Committee, Report on Tourism business results in 2009 and orientations and tasks in 2010 54 Van Don People Committee, Report on Tourism business results in 2010 and orientations and tasks in 2011 55 Quang Ninh People Committee (2011), Overall planning for development of Quang Ninh tourism in period 2011-2020 IN ENGLISH 56 Ames, S (2003) “How To Design, Implement and Manage An Effective Community Visioning Process.” 57 Blarney, R.K (1995), “The Nature of Ecotourism”, Occasional Paper 21, Bureau of Tourism Research, Canberra, Australia 58 Christ, C (1997), “Ecotourism and Its Role in Africa Tourism Promotion”, Berlin, Germany 59 CUC, “Planning for Local Level Sustainable Tourism Development”, Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) 60 CUC, UEM Project (2001), “Community Tourism Destination Management: Principles and Practices”, Edited by Walter Jamieson 61 David, F (2003), “Ecotourism”???? (nha xuat ban) 62 Denman, R (2001),“Guidelines for Community-based Tourism Development”, World Wildlife Fun International (WWF) 63 Học, Trương Quang (2007), “Biodiversity and Climate change – General issues ISGE Newsletter, MONRE, volume 64 Jamieson,W (2006) Economies”, Haworth Press 65 “Community Destination Management in Developing Suansi, P (2003) “Community-Based Tourism Handbook, Responsible Ecological Social Tour-REST”, Thailand 66 UNESCO, (2001) “Monitoring the Success and Impacts of Community- based Ecotourism” FROM INTERNET 67 Ha Phuong (2008), “Wake up http://www.sggp.org.vn/SGGP12h/2007/11/132547/ the potential of Van Don”, 68 Vice professor, PhD Pham Trung Luong (2007), “Sustainable development of Vietnam Tourism: The rising issues” ,http://www.itdr.org.vn 69 Web page http: www.consecol.org 70 Web page http: www.sustainableseattle.org 71 Web page http: www.vietnamtourism.com 72 Web page http: www.tourism.gov ... 32 Do Van Ninh (1971), Finding a trace of historical Van Don, Quang Ninh Information culture company 33 Do Van Ninh (1997), Van Don islands district, Van Don people committee 34 Do Van Ninh (2004),... Theoretical basis; factual basis of the type of community ecotourism and sustainable development in general and sustainable tourism development in particular In the theoretical basis, the author has... Implementing training on tourism profession and tourism management for staff performing management of tourism, culture and information; Implementing professional occupation training courses (table