Ethnic Minority Participation in Tourism Planning: Evidence From Vietnam

This study aims to investigate the participation of ethnic minorities in tourism planning with particular reference to the political context in Vietnam. A mixed research approach was adopted including qualitative and quantitative methods. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with key tourism stakeholders and a follow-up survey. This study reveals that participation in tourism planning by ethnic minorities is hindered by government structures and policy, style of planning, inadequate education, and unequal distribution of the benefits of tourism. In particular, the top-down government tourism planning structures hinder participation by ethnic minorities through the process of tourism planning. As involvement enhancing implementation measures, the study proposes capacity building, education, and a fine tuning of approaches to participation. Involvement by indigenous researchers should be encouraged so that research data are more easily understood in the context of ethnic minority ideologies. Future scholars should also take more account of power relations in tourism planning.