Differences between Vietnamese and Western Protected Area Visitors in Viet Nam: Evidence from Cat Tien National Park

Abstract

Protected areas in Viet Nam and other developing Asian countries are being subjected to growing ecological stress due to increases in the number of domestic and international visitors associated with the country’s rapid development and integration into the global economy. International tourists largely adhere to a widely recognised biocentric Western construct of the ‘ecotourist’, leading to more predictable implications for management and product development. In contrast, little is known about the characteristics of domestic visitors to Viet Nam’s protected areas and in particular the extent to which they adhere to the model of the Western ecotourist. Ecotourism is popularly defined as embracing three core criteria: emphasis on relatively undisturbed nature-based attractions; provision of environmental learning and education opportunities; and management and planning protocols that are compatible with the sustainability ‘triple bottom line’. Within that distinctive market segment, ecotourists show variability along a hard-soft spectrum in which harder or softer ecotourists are differentiated respectively by dedicated or casual interest, preference for physical rigour or comfort, and commitment to deep or shallow environmentalism. An intermediate group of ‘structured ecotourists’ combines harder and softer ecotourism characteristics.