How different are community support for ethnic tourism? The views of multiple ethnic groups in Vietnam’s Central Highlands

Purpose The paper aims to explore (1) the ways in which community support for ethnic tourism is influenced by different community-related factors and (2) how community support for ethnic tourism varies among four ethnic communities. Design/methodology/approach By adopting a qualitative approach, 31 semi-structured interviews are conducted with ethnic villagers in four study sites of the Central Highlands, Vietnam. The content analysis and cross-case comparison are carried out to identify similarities and differences among four ethnic sites to address the research objectives. Findings This paper finds that most participants support ethnic tourism in the Central Highlands, but the level of support and attitudes differ across the four communities as a result of their existing socio-psychological factors and different tourism participation levels. Consistent with many previous studies, all communities acknowledge the economic returns from tourism participation. However, higher levels of cultural and social capital make certain communities (i.e. Lak and Lac Duong) more interested in actively participating in the decision-making process, rather than only participating in tourism activities. The higher the level of participation in tourism is, the more strongly villagers support ethnic tourism. Practical implications This paper helps local policymakers or tourism practitioners in selecting targeted communities based on their existing socio-psychological aspects and interests. The tourism implementation, as well as the way to approach an ethnic community, should differ across different communities in order to achieve greater support and more positive outcomes for ethnic tourism development. Originality/value The paper adds two contributions to the current tourism literature. First, it reaffirms that community support for tourism is influenced not only by the community participation level in tourism but also by various socio-psychological elements of the community. Second, this study overcomes the limitations of previous studies when investigating community participation and support for ethnic tourism in multiple locations rather than a single site.