Fake it until you make it! De la station d’altitude au parc de loisirs : Réappropriations locales de modèles touristiques globalisés, le cas de Ba Na (Vietnam)

Ba Na Hills is a leisure park located in the mountainous region of Central Vietnam managed by Sun Group, one of the largest tourism operator in the country. During the colonial era, a hill station was built on the same spot. Although nothing remains of the historical site, Bana Hills thrives on the narrative of French thematization. In this regard, Ba Na Hills is an original trajectory of complete reappropriation, the Vietnamese tourists forming the bulk of the frequentation. Rather than a standardized application of a globalized model, the park is tuned to local practices, particularly the spiritual dimension given to the mountain, with a vast array of pagodas. By contrasting archives, semi-participant observations, photographic material and surveys carried out in 2007, 2016 and 2022, we will show that the place’s enchantment paradoxically rests on a certain continuity between both the colonial hill station and the contemporary leisure park, two enclaves of tourist globalization. Indeed, Ba Na Hills embodies a form of modern heterotopia that make it stand out. In some ways, this results in a break with its immediate environment, which is now subject to criticism.