[Research Contribution] Sustainable Tourism Begins with Residents – Part 2: From Community Support to Destination Governance
27 August, 2026
Keywords: Sustainable tourism; Destination governance; Local communities; Central Vietnam tourism; Inclusive tourism; Community empowerment
When empowerment, happiness, social responsibility, and place attachment can drive residents to support sustainable tourism, the next question is how to translate these drivers into practical action. Drawing from a survey of 686 residents working in or providing tourism-related services in Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Nam, a research team from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) points toward one approach: destination governance needs to broaden its focus from attracting and serving tourists to building an ecosystem where residents are empowered, have a voice, and are genuinely involved in the development process.
From Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Nam: When sustainability is seen from the community perspective
The study was conducted with 686 residents currently working in or providing tourism-related services in three major tourist destinations in Central Vietnam: Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Nam. This context is particularly meaningful, as the three localities represent various prominent tourism types: heritage tourism, coastal tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, and urban tourism.
Central Vietnam possesses numerous advantages for developing sustainable tourism, from cultural heritage and natural landscapes to traditional craft communities and an increasingly developed service ecosystem. However, this region also faces multiple pressures, including heritage commercialization, environmental pollution, infrastructure strain, seasonal dependency, destination competition, and the risk of residents being excluded from high-value chains.
In this context, the study conveys a practical message: localities should not focus solely on attracting visitors but should simultaneously build the community’s capacity to engage alongside them. A sustainable tourism strategy is unlikely to succeed if residents do not feel empowered, do not see benefits for their livelihoods, do not trust the destination’s social responsibility, and lack concrete channels for participation.
For Hue, the lesson may lie in connecting heritage conservation with residents’ daily lives, so that culture is not merely performed for tourists but continues to be a meaningful living space for the community.
For Da Nang, the lesson may lie in maintaining its image as a livable tourism city by linking tourism development with environmental quality, service transparency, and resident welfare.
For Quang Nam, particularly its heritage- and community-based destinations, the lesson may lie in ensuring that local people are not merely service providers but are stakeholders who participate in and benefit from tourism development.
From tourist management to community ecosystem governance
From the tourism industry’s perspective, the study points toward an important shift. In the past, many destination strategies focused on tourists: how to attract visitors, increase spending, extend length of stay, enhance satisfaction, and encourage return visits. These objectives remain important but are no longer sufficient.
Sustainable tourism requires the industry to broaden its focus to include residents and local communities.
A sustainable destination is not only one where tourists are satisfied but also one where residents feel the place is worth living in, worth taking pride in, and worth engaging with. Therefore, future tourism governance indicators need to incorporate measures such as residents’ sense of empowerment, perceived happiness, trust in destination social responsibility, place attachment, level of participation in tourism-related decisions, and accessibility to economic benefits from tourism.
This approach also helps the tourism industry avoid the risks of one-sided development. If visitor numbers are merely maximized, destinations may face overtourism, loss of identity, and declining quality of life. If the focus is solely on large investors, local communities may be pushed to the bottom of the value chain. If sustainability is communicated without participatory mechanisms, residents may lose trust.
Conversely, when residents are viewed as strategic partners, destinations have the opportunity to develop in a more inclusive, humane, and sustainable direction.
At the macro level, the study also contributes to understanding the SDGs in tourism. SDG 8 is not simply about creating more jobs but about creating quality work and opportunities for capacity building. SDG 11 is not only about preserving tangible heritage but also about sustaining living communities, identity, and a sense of belonging. SDG 12 calls not only for responsible consumption by tourists but also for designing service systems that enable both businesses and residents to operate more responsibly. SDG 16 and SDG 17 emphasize that sustainable development requires institutions that listen and multi-stakeholder partnerships in which residents have a substantive voice.
Activating resident support through two pathways
From the study’s findings, two main solution groups can be drawn for destination managers, local authorities, and tourism businesses.
The pathway from within: Enhancing resident empowerment and happiness
Before implementing sustainable tourism projects, localities need to understand how residents perceive tourism. Regular surveys on quality of life, perceived empowerment, satisfaction levels, and participation opportunities should be conducted at the ward, commune, or craft community level. Survey results should be made public and used as a basis for policy adjustments.
In addition, participation channels for residents should be expanded. Community meetings, tourism advisory councils, digital feedback platforms, complaint mechanisms, dialogue forums between businesses and residents, and sustainable tourism skills training programs can all help people feel they have a voice and agency.
Particularly, groups that are often underrepresented—such as seasonal workers, small household businesses, artisans, women, youth, and peri-urban communities – should be included in the consultation process.
The pathway from outside: Clarifying social responsibility and nurturing place attachment
Destinations need to make responsible activities visible. If there are environmental protection programs, residents need to see concrete results. If tourism revenue is reinvested in the community, the allocation should be transparent. If businesses implement social responsibility, those activities should be connected to local needs rather than serving only communication goals.
At the same time, activities that help residents reconnect with their place should be created. Local storytelling programs, community festivals, resident-led tours, living heritage conservation activities, public space clean-up projects, local culture classes for younger generations, and “local sustainability ambassador” programs can all contribute to increasing pride in and responsibility for the destination.
Moreover, community norms should be built in a positive direction. Instead of merely calling on individuals to act, destinations can foster community movements in which sustainable behavior is visible, recognized, and disseminated.
For instance, tourism neighborhoods can publicly disclose the number of households reducing single-use plastics; tour guide groups can commit to respectfully introducing local culture; accommodations can partner with residents on environmental protection programs; local schools can incorporate sustainable tourism education into extracurricular activities.
Tourism businesses also need to view residents as partners rather than merely as a labor source. Businesses can collaborate with communities in supplying local products, organizing cultural experiences, sharing benefits, providing skills training, supporting green transitions, and building responsible tourism value chains. When residents see that businesses are genuinely contributing to the locality, trust in and support for sustainable tourism will increase.
A sustainable destination must first be a livable place
The research on resident support for sustainable tourism development conveys a clear message: sustainable tourism cannot be built from plans, slogans, or promotional campaigns alone. It needs to begin with the people living at the destination—those who work alongside tourism, preserve local culture, and directly experience the impacts of tourism growth.
The study’s contribution lies in identifying the specific drivers that encourage residents to support sustainable tourism development. When residents feel empowered, have better lives, see the destination’s social responsibility, are attached to where they live, are encouraged by their community, and have the capacity to participate, they will adopt more positive attitudes and be more willing to accompany sustainable initiatives.
For Vietnam’s tourism industry, particularly for rapidly developing localities such as Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Nam, the research findings suggest an important direction: to develop sustainable tourism, destinations must be built not only to be attractive to tourists but also to be livable for residents. When residents are listened to, empowered, and fairly benefited, they become a force for protecting resources, preserving identity, enhancing experience quality, and spreading a positive image of the destination.
In the context of global tourism shifting from quantitative growth to quality and sustainable development, local residents need to be placed at the center of destination governance. A sustainable destination is not only one where tourists want to go, but also one where residents want to stay, want to participate, and want to build the future together. From this perspective, tourism becomes not merely an economic sector but also a tool for community development, enhancing happiness, strengthening identity, and realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Author: Tran Thi Kim Phuong – University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City
This article is part of the Knowledge Dissemination Series from UEH, conveying the message “Research Contribution For All.” UEH respectfully invites readers to stay tuned for the next edition of the UEH Research Insights newsletter.
News and photos: Author, Department of Communications and Partnerships
Chia sẻ:
[Research Contribution] Co-innovating for a Sustainable Ocean Economy
12 December, 2025
[Podcast] Recommendations for University education development
14 February, 2025
[Podcast] Developing Vung Tau into a World-Class Tourism City
16 January, 2025
[Podcast] Postdigital Design Strategies for Media Art
6 January, 2025
[Podcast] NFTs – Artistic Innovation or Just a New Hype?
27 December, 2024
[Podcast] Boosting Employee Creativity with Constructive Feedback
23 November, 2024
[Podcast] “Dutch Disease” in Remittances and the Case of Vietnam
4 November, 2024
[Podcast] Latest approaches for sustainable universities
11 July, 2024
Data Law – Part 1: Necessity for a New Approach
18 May, 2024
Advertising Evaluation on Tiktok Platform
14 May, 2024
[Podcast] Advertising Evaluation on Tiktok Platform
13 May, 2024
Promoting Learner Autonomy in English Language Learning (Part 1)
24 November, 2023
ArtTech And Sustainable Development
27 October, 2023
Motivation of EFL Vietnamese Students in Economics-related Majors
12 October, 2023
Climate Change And Our Society: The Urgency Of Gender Inequality
12 October, 2023
People Analytics in Vietnam
10 March, 2022
Revolution in Experimental Economics
30 January, 2022
The Sharing Economy: Governance Issues in Vietnam
24 January, 2022
Employment Policy For Ho Chi Minh City in Post-social distancing Period
28 December, 2021
Lifelong learning at UEH: Towards a Sustainable University
28 December, 2021
Building a Decentralized Stock Market based on Blockchain Technology
24 December, 2021
Consumer price index from big data mining perspective (Big data)
17 November, 2021
Overview Of Digital Currency – Part 5: DIEM Private Stabilized Currency
11 November, 2021
