Promoting the cultural values of the Xơ Đăng community in developing tourism products from internal and external approaches (A case study of Kon Jong village, Ngọk Réo commune, Đăk Hà district, Kon Tum province)

By analyzing the qualitative data collected from the intermittent fieldwork conducted in the Xơ Đăng community in Kon Jong village, Ngọk Réo commune, Đăk Hà district, Kon Tum province from March 2024 to January 2025, the authors argue that building and developing community tourism products rooted in local cultural values is an appropriate solution to contribute to the preservation of ethnic cultural values in the context of rapid integration and development today. Based on the identification of tangible and intangible cultural elements of the Xơ Đăng people, the authors observe that key values such as natural landscapes, architecture, agricultural techniques, resource exploitation, local cuisine, ethnic music, the history of the ethnic group, and the treasure trove of literature and folk arts serve as the foundational values for developing community tourism products. From both internal and external approaches, the study applies the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model to assess the natural and cultural resources of the Xơ Đăng people as a basis for tourism product development. Additionally, in the current development context, analyzing external factors, especially the socio-economic dynamics at the local level through the implementation of local policies, is essential. The results of the paper show that with the combination of internal and external forces, the community-based tourism model based on indigenous cultural values demonstrates sustainability when focusing on the benefits of the community and locality in aspects such as governmental support and guidance, management mechanisms, and development strategies. Furthermore, the study proposes the 2MAT methodology for integrating cultural values into tourism products.