Summary of doctorial (PH d) thesis in economics tourism economy in the north central region in international economic integration

Purpose and task of the research - Purpose: To accelerate the development of tourism economy in the North Central provinces in the context of Vietnam’s deeper and greater integration ini

-NGUYEN THI HONG LAM

TOURISM ECONOMY IN THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC

Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration

Academic Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr An Nhu Hai

Judge 1:

Judge 2:

Judge 3:

The thesis will be defended in front of a panel of examining judges at

Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration

1 The necessity of the research

Tourism is a synthetic industry which is highly intersectoral, interregional andsocialised Performances of this industry not only meets the rising demand for travel

of human beings but also plays an essential role in the ”on-the-spot export” of goodsand services abroad

In Vietnam, the tourism industry came into being in 1960, however, until1990s it was regarded as an economy soon after the country’s open door policy Sincethen, the tourism economy has grown rapidly and attained certain encouragingachievements

The North Central region is an economic zone consisting of Thanh Hoa, Nghe

An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, abounding inmany valuable tourism potentials with diverse natural wonders and cultural identities

On the other hand, favourable traffic conditions regarding road, rail and waterwaytransport facilitates the region’s tourism economy to bring into full play itsadvantages and attract tourists

Over the past years, tourism economy in the North Central provinces has made

a remarkable growth Nevertheless, the current development of the tourism economyremains limited in regard to demands for international economic integration and theregion’s potential The matter here is how to tap into full potential and advantages ofthe tourism economy in the whole region to satisfy the demands for internationaleconomic integration to bring about high socio-economic effects? Under such

circumstances, that the PhD candidate chooses the topic: “Tourism economy in the

North Central provinces in international economic integration” which is of not

only theoretical but also practical significance to the development of tourismeconomy in the North Central provinces in the coming time

2 Purpose and task of the research

- Purpose: To accelerate the development of tourism economy in the North

Central provinces in the context of Vietnam’s deeper and greater integration ininternational economic relations from the point of political economics

- Task: 1) To systemize theoretical and practical foundations of tourism

economy in international economic integration of a certain territory in Vietnam fromthe point of political economics, 2) To evaluate the reality of tourism economy ininternational economic integration in the North Central provinces, and 3) To proposedirections and solutions to promote the development of tourism economy in the NorthCentral provinces in international economic integration

3 Subject and scope of the research:

- Subject of the research: All business activities related to tourism economy in

the North Central provinces in international economic integration

- Scope of the research:

+ Space: The thesis studies tourism economy in the North Central provinces

from economic approaches The thesis does not study each province individually butconsiders each province’s tourism economy as a component of tourism economy ofthe whole North Central region

+ Time scope: The situation of tourism economy from 2000 to the present;

directions and solutions to 2020 with a vision to 2030

4 Theoretical foundations and research methods of the thesis

- Theoretical foundations:

The Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh ideology, and standpoints, paths,renewal policies of the Party and State of Vietnam in regard to tourism economydevelopment

- Research methods:

+ Research methods applied include abstractisation, analysis and synthesis, andlogic plus historical background, statistical method, quantitative analysis, and comparativemethod; and selectively acquires some results of published scientific studies

5 Scientific contributions and values of the thesis

1) Systemizing theories of tourism economy in international economicintegration in a certain tourism area in Vietnam from the perspective of politicaleconomics 2) Selecting lessons drawn from foreign countries’ experience indeveloping tourism economy to refer to the case of Vietnam in general and the case

of the North Central region in particular 3) Assessing the situation of tourismeconomy, the thesis analyzes achievements and shortcomings of tourism economy inthe North Central provinces in international economic integration

6 Conclusion

Besides the introduction, conclusion, list of reference, and appendix the thesiscomprises four chapters and eleven sections

Chapter 1 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH ON TOURISM ECONOMY

1.1 FOREIGN STUDIES ON TOURISM ECONOMY

A number of typical foreign researches focusing on tourism and tourism

economy include: 1) The book “Tourism in Developing Countries” by Martin

Oppermann and Kye - Sung Chon, was published in 1997 by International Thomson

Business Press 2) The research:“The Business of Rural Tourism International

Perspectives” by co-authors Stephen J Page and Don Getz, was printed by

International Thomson Business Press in 1997 3) The research: “Commercial

Recreation & Tourism - An Introduction to Business Oriented Recreation” by Susan

A.Weston, was printed in 1996 by Brown & Benchmark 4) The research: “Managing

Tourism” was written in 1991 by Prof S Medlik and reprinted in 1995 by

Butterworth - Heinemann 5) The work: “The Economics of Leisure and Tourism” by

John Tribe was published by Butterworth - Heinemann Ltd in 1995, etc

1.2 DOMESTIC RESEARCHES ON TOURISM ECONOMY

1.2.1 Scientific researches and PhD theses

There has been a great number of researches on tourism and tourism economy

in Vietnam so far Regarding these areas, it should be noted the scientific researches

and PhD theses as followed: 1) Ministerial-leveled work (2007): “Research develops

Vietnam’s tourism products of high competitiveness in the region and in the world”,

is carried out by a group of authors, led by Dr Do Cam Tho, from the Institute for

Tourism Development Research 2) Ministerial-level research (2008):“Scientific

ground to develop coastal tourism in the North Central region”, is carried out by a

group of authors led by Assoc Prof and Dr Pham Trung Luong of the NationalInstitute for Tourism Development Research 3) Ministerial-level research (2011)

“The status quo of and solutions to develop national sea tourism regions in the North

Central region”, is carried out by a group of authors led by Dr Nguyen Thu Hanh, of

the Institute for Tourism Development Research 4) The Vietnam National

Administration of Tourism’s research: “Policy and solutions to promote tourism

development in the central and Central Highlands region” (2001) 5) The report:

“Master plan on tourism development in the North Central region to 2020, with a

vision to 2030” (2012) by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 6) Thesis of

economics by Hoang Thi Ngoc Lan of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of

Politics and Public Administration, Ha Noi (2007), “Ha Tay’s tourism market”, etc.

1.2.2 Researches in the form of books and other publications

Among these publications, those focusing tourism and tourism economy so far

include: 1) The book “Tourism market” by Nguyen Van Luu, Ha Noi National Publishing House, 2009 2) The “Tourism economy syllabus” book is written by Prof.,

Dr NguyenVan Dinh and Assoc Prof., Dr Nguyen Van Dinh and published by the

National Economics University, Ha Noi, in 2008 3) The “Travel Business

Management Syllabus” text book by co-authors Assoc Prof., Dr Nguyen Van Manh

and Assoc Prof., Dr Pham Hong Chuong, National Economics University’sPublishing House, Ha Noi, 2009, etc In addition, on the national scientific researchforum there are numerous articles related to tourism economy in the context of

international economic integration, notably: “Tourism Development in the North

Central Region: Issues raised”(2010) by Assoc Prof., Dr Pham Trung Luong at the

workshop on “Orientations of Tourism Development in the North Central Region”

organised in Vinh City, Nghe An Province “Tourism Development in the Greater

Mekong Subregion” (2010) by Dr Nguyen Van Dung and MA Nguyen Tien Luc,

Vietnam Tourism Magazine, 10th edition “Tourism Development in the Greater

Mekong Subregion” (2010) by Dr Nguyen Van Dung and MA Nguyen Tien Luc,

Vietnam Tourism Magazine, 10th edition, etc

1.3 GENERAL RESULTS OF PUBLISHED STUDIES AND ISSUES RAISED FOR FURTHER STUDY ON TOURISM ECONOMY

1.3.1 General results of published studies associated with tourism economy

The authors focus on key issues as followed: 1) The authors define fundamentalcharacteristics of tourism economy with comprehension related to tourism economy:concept of tourism, tourism economy, ecotourism, tourists, competition ability oftourism destination, tourism human resources, State management of tourism economy,etc 2) Characteristics, situation, and development trends of tourism economy innations all over the world at present 3) The authors analyse, specify tourism products,tourism product mechanism, the role of components of tourism products, the role oftourism economy to the socio-economic development of the nation and regions inregards to component factors of tourism supply and demand 4) The reality of tourismmarket in some cities and provinces in Vietnam 5) Numerous solutions to diversifyand increase the quality of tourism products in some provinces in Vietnam

Nevertheless, in regards to theory, published scientific researches have notspecified concepts of tourism economy from the perspective of political economics,and typical features of tourism economy; have not analysed systematicallycomponents of tourism economy, the relation between tourism economy and socio-economic development, and factors influencing tourism economy in the internationaleconomic integration The researches have not analysed to the full opportunities andchallenges of the international economic integration to Vietnam’s tourism economy

in general and to the North Central region’s tourism economy in particular

Regarding practical approach, the researches have not mentioned to the fulland comprehensively the reality of tourism economy in the North Central region Theauthors have not analysed comprehensively the new economic context of tourismeconomy in the North Central provinces in the international economic integration.Also, the authors have not presented systematically targets, orientations, andsolutions to develop tourism economy in the North Central provinces in the context

of international economic integration

In order to help with addressing the problem, the subject: “Tourism Economy

in the North Central Provinces in International Economic Integration” that the

postgraduate has chosen to study is new, and of theoretical and practical significance

1.3.2 Issues raised for further study: 1) Specifying theories of tourism economy

and tourism economy development in the new context of national and internationalsituations, and international economic integration from the perspective of politicaleconomics 2) Studying lessons of success and unsuccessfulness from nations world-wide on the current tourism economy development in the international economicintegration to draw valuable lessons of experience for Vietnam in general and for theNorth Central region in particular to learn from 3) Specifying the reality of tourismeconomy in the North Central provinces and indicate strengths and limitations in thedevelopment process of this economic sector to propose objectives, orientations, andsolutions to accelerate development in the time to come

Chapter 2 THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL GROUNDS OF TOURISM ECONOMY

IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION 2.1 TOURISM ECONOMY AND COMPONENTS OF TOURISM ECONOMY

2.1.1 Tourism and tourism economy

2.1.1.1 Tourism

Conception

From the perspective of political economics, and views it as the general ofphenomena and economic relations which arise from the mutual influences between

tourists, tourism businesspeople, local authorities, and local community in the

process of attracting and retain tourists Tourism is an activity of many specific

characteristics with many participating components, thus, making itself a verycomplicated general Tourism operation bears both characteristics of an economicsector, and of an economic-social sector

 Tourism product and its typical features

Tourism products are “services and commodities provided to tourists are

produced through the combination of exploiting natural and social factors withmaterial and technical facilities as well as labour forces in an establishment, a region

or a country

Characteristics of tourism products: Apart from common features of ordinary

commodities, tourism products are characterised by special features as followed:

Firstly, once an ordinary commodity is sold to a buyer its values will vanish slowly or

even be lost after the first use, whilst the values of tourism products are not Thetourism products’ values will exist in the feelings and evaluations of tourists and the

values can even be acknowledged through the tourists’ words of mouth Secondly, the

consumption of tourism products does not occur regularly but during certain time in aday (in regards to products offered at a restaurant), in a week (in regards to products

offered at the year-end tourism season), during a year (in regards to products of sometourism categories: mountain tourism, and beach tourism, etc ) It is the very thesecharacteristics that tourism is a highly seasonal operation.

In facts, in the tourism product mechanism, tourism services make up aconsiderable percentage (about 80-90%), therefore, it is extremely important to findout about and properly assess characteristics of tourism products

 Tourism service and its typical features

Tourism service is “the supply of services on travel, transport, accommodation,

food and beverage, amusement, recreation, information, guidance, and other services

to meet the demands of tourists.

Tourism is a type of services which contains common features of services and typical features of its own: the intangibility of services, the synchronism of tourism

service production and consumption, the involvement of tourists in the production ofservices, the immovability of tourism services, the ownership unchangability oftourism services, and the unequability of the quality

 Types of tourism

Depending on different modes of classification, tourism can be classified asfollows: 1) In regard to territorial scope of travel, tourism is divided into internationaland domestic tourism 2) In regard to tourists’ demands, tourism can be: medicaltourism, recreational and relaxation tourism, excursions tourism, sports tourism, MICE(meetings, incentives, conference, and exhibitions), and spiritual tourism, etc 3) Inregard to geographical position of the destination: mountain tourism, beach tourism,river tourism, lake tourism, city tourism, and countryside tourism 4) In regard tomeans of transport facilitating tourists’ travel: tourism by bicycle, motorbikes,automobiles, train, and airplane 5) In regard to the tour organisation, tourism isdivided into group and individual tourism 6) In regard to the length of tourists’travel, tourism is divided into short-day and long-day tourism, etc

2.1.1.2 Tourism economy

Tourism economy is an economic relation in the field of tourism product supply and consists of relations among travel business, tourism lodging service business, tourism transport business, tourism area and tourism spot development, and other tourism services business in order to satisfy the spiritual demand of tourists and bring bout significant social, economic and political benefits for the tourism enterprises and the country Tourism economy is a non-smoke industry and a nonmaterial production

area but brings about huge material and spiritual values

Tourism economy is a service industry with typical characteristics: beingsensitive, highly synthetic, multidisciplinary, multi-sector, expenditure-oriented,interregional and seasonal On the basis of the objectives of tourism businesses in the

world in general and the Law of Tourism in Vietnam in particular, indicators to evaluatetourism economy may include: tourists, earnings from tourists, tourism industry’sgross products, and tourism economy effects, etc.

2.1.2 Tourism economy components

Tourism economy is a synthetic industry consisting of relations between suchmajor sectors and businesses as follows:

2.1.2.1 Travel business

In fact, related to the travel business, tourism experts often mention majoroperations as “trading and signing business contracts with internal and externaltourism business organisations to build and implement tours which have been sold totourists” However, the fact indicates that the travel business mainly involves the twopopular operations: travel business and travel agency business

2.1.2.2 The business of tourism accommodation

Accommodation establishments are those who rent out bedrooms to touristsand provide other services to satisfy tourists’ demands during their stay, in whichhotel is the most popular type of lodging Accommodation business is one ofimportant sectors contributing considerable income for tourism economy

2.1.2.3 The business of tourist transportation

The business of tourist transport is an operation enabling tourists to move fromtheir living place to a tourism site as well as to move within the tourism site There is

a number of means of transport available to serve this business, namely automobiles,train, ships, and airplane

2.1.2.4 The business of tourism area and tourism site development

The business of tourism area and tourism site development takes into account:the investment to preserve and upgrade available tourism resources; tapping the fullpotential of available tourism resources for development new tourism area and site;and building tourism infrastructure, and material and technical facilities

2.1.2.5 The business of other tourism services

Apart from business operations mentioned above, tourism economycomponents also include the business of recreational activities, advertisement,promotion, and tourism investment consultancy, etc

2.2 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOURISM ECONOMY AND

TOURISM ECONOMY IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

2.2.1 The relationship between tourism economy and socio-economic development

2.2.1.1 The influence of tourism economy on socio-economic development:

1) The development of tourism economy contributes to enhancing the economicgrowth; 2) Tourism economy develops will advance the transition of the national

economic structure; 3) The development of tourism economy contributes to boostingdomestic and foreign investment, which eventually increases the whole economy’stotal demand; 4) The development of tourism economy contributes to promoting anddeveloping other economic relationships including the relations in investment co-operation, production co-operation, trading, and services between economic subjectsand components; 5) The development of tourism economy increases socialemployment and income; 6) The attraction and expansion of international tourists, thedevelopment of tourism economy will be a vital information channel to promote thehost country’s images.

2.2.1.2 The socio-economic impacts on the development of tourism economy:

The development of economic sectors like industry, agriculture and handicrafts, etcwill help improve the society’s material-technical facilities, contributing to enhancingthe quality of services in the chain of tourism services The development of socialsectors such as culture, education, and health, etc will promote the attractiveness, andcompetitiveness of destination brands for tourism economy Other sectors includingtelecommunications, electronics, traffic and transport, etc develop will help promotetourism brand names, introduce tourism products, and connect tours for tourismeconomy Other service sectors including finance, banking, securities and insurance,etc, if well-developed, will be a major supporting force for the development oftourism economy Thus, the general socio-economic development will help enhancethe infrastructure, intellectual standards of people, and convenient services, etc,speeding up the development of tourism economy

2.2.2 Factors affecting tourism economy in the international economic integration

2.2.2.1 The State role in tourism economy development

* The State creates the socio-economic and political environment.

Political environment is presented first and foremost through the nation’s

system of legislation, policy and institution A peaceful and stable politics will be animportant premise for the country’s development in general and the development oftourism economy in particular

The socio-economic environment of tourism economy is presented through the

development level of sectors and the labour output of the home country Tourismeconomy is a synthetic industry, thus, it can only develop when other industriesdevelop

* The State maps out development strategy and planning for tourism economy.

Tourism economy development strategy is a component of the State and Party’s

socio-economic development strategies It is a tool to provide a long-term vision ofthe performance of tourism economy in a particular period of time

Tourism planning is a collection of theoretical and practical foundations to be

involved in collective or separate tourism sites associated with the investment andproduction process If tourism planning is done well, this will help increase tourismbenefits and minimise negative effects that tourism economy may have on localcommunities and enterprises

2.2.2.2 Potentials of resources for tourism economy development

The potentials of resources for the development of tourism economy includestourism resources, financial resources, and human resources for tourism performance

Tourism resources are essential to the scale, quality and the uniqueness of

tourism products The richer and more diverse tourism resources are, the more theyabsorb tourists both internally and externally

Human resources for tourism: If a nation or an enterprise builds up a

high-quality human resource, this is an essential factor to create tourism products of highquality, promoting the competitiveness of the tourism destination in general and ofeach enterprise in particular

Capital resource is of significant influence on the development of tourism

economy Tourism economy is competitive and appealing to tourists or not, largelydepending on the modernity of material and infrastructure facilities and tourismaccommodation establishments The modernity of material and infrastructurefacilities and tourism accommodation establishments completely relies on the scaleand efficient usage of investment capital

2.2.2.3 The scale and quality of suppliers of tourism products and services

The quantity, scale and quality of suppliers of tourism products andservices have an important affect on the development of tourism economy Iftourism enterprises provide products and services seasonal, suitable to tourist tasteswith a competitive price will certainly appeal to tourists and be able to keep them staylonger In addition, if tourism enterprises co-exist and develop will create a faircompetition to promote the quality of services

2.2.2.4 International economic integration and its impacts on tourism economy

- International economic integration is a process nations initiatively connect

their own economy with the regional and international economies through efforts toliberalise the economy and mitigate the difference to become an integrated part of theglobal economy

- International economic integration creates both opportunities for a nation todevelop tourism economy and challenges in the development process

+ Opportunities: i, opportunity to increase international tourism share; ii, opportunity to reform; iii, opportunity to expand the market and develop new forms

of tourism; iv, new competition opportunities for tourism economy in countries all over the world; v, opportunity to build an efficient supporting policy system, etc.

+ Challenges: i, to conserve traditional cultural values; ii, to increase environmental pressure; and iii, fiercer competition, etc

DEVELOPMENT THAT VIETNAM IN GENERAL AND THE NORTH CENTRAL PROVINCES IN PARTICULAR CAN LEARN FROM

2.3.1 The State pays attention to developing tourism economy, regarding it as

a non-smoke industry: i, the role of tourism economy in socio-economic development

policy should be seriously considered; ii, a country should have national policies for the development of tourism economy and highly regard tourism economy strategies.

2.3.2 Experience in programming tourism promotion and marketing

activities: i, well implement strategies of marketing and promoting products and

destinations; ii, attach much importance to investment for tourism promotion

strategies

2.3.3 Experience in training human resources for tourism economy: i,

attaching much importance to foster and use tourism human resources; ii, paying due

attention to training professional tour guides

2.3.4 Construct and diversify tourism products: i, bringing into full play

cultural values, faiths, and other attractions in constructing tourism products; ii, attaching much importance to enhancing the competitiveness of tourism products; iii,

establishing and developing tourism products are prioritised in the tourism economy

development strategy; iv, attaching much importance to supplying supportive services for tourism economy; v, experience of an excellent tourism operator, etc.

2.3.5 Experience from association and co-operation in tourism economy development: Those with a developed tourism industry like Singapore and Thailand,

etc have associated and co-operated with each other for many years They worktogether to link tours and to produce typical and special tourism products for eachnation, lower tour price and create a level competitive price, etc to attractinternational tourists

2.3.6 Experience of visa waiver for tourists, creating a stable political environment, ensuring security and safety of tourists: Visa waiver for tourists is a

strategic policy to attract international tourists On the other hand, political stability,peace and clean ecological environment are ideal conditions for tourist attraction

These experiences are precious lessons for not only Vietnam but also the NorthCentral provinces, which they should and need to learn from for the development oftourism economy in the international economic integration Nevertheless, Vietnam ingeneral and the North Central provinces in particular should pay attention to specialcharacteristics of their own to put forward proper development policies to bring aboutthe desired effects for tourism economy

Chapter 3 REAL SITUATION OF THE TOURISM ECONOMY IN THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

3.1 IMPACTS OF NATURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

IN THE NORTH CENTRAL PROVINCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR TOURISM ECONOMY

3.1.1 Natural and socio-economic conditions in the North Central provinces

3.1.1.1 Natural conditions

The North Central Region is narrow, in terms of its horizontal line The region

is located between the Tam Diep mountain range in the North and the Bach Mamountain range in the South which is the natural border between the region and theCostal South Central Region The region, consisting of six provinces, namely ThanhHoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien – Hue, is 52,534.2square kilometres in area To the West, the region is bordered by the Truong Sonmountain range, while to the North it borders the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.Vietnam’s North-West Region and the Red River Delta are also on the North of theregion To the South, it borders the Costal South Central Region, while the East Sea

is on the East of the region The region is rather rich of natural tourism resources aswell as humanity tourism resources, favourable for tourism economy development

3.1.1.2 Socio-economic conditions

With a population of approximately 16,556,700 people, there have been positivechanges in the region’s socio-economic development in recent years All achievementshave been made in the field of socio-economy, national defence and public security As

a result of market-oriented adjustments of economic structure, private and foreigninvested sectors represented a higher ratio while that of state-own (at both central andlocal levels) and collective sectors was lower In addition to the adjustments ofeconomic structure, labour force structure has been reformed accordingly

3.1.2 Advantages and limitations from natural and socio-economic conditions for development of tourism economy in the North Central provinces

3.1.2.1 Advantages

The North Central region has a rich and diversified tourism potential representatives

of which are 6 world heritage sites, recognised by the UNESCO, namely ancientimperial city of Hue, Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, the Royal Refined Music

of Hue, Ho Dynasty Citadel In addition, the woodblocks of Nguyen Dynasty are alsorecognised by UNESCO as a “World Documentary Heritage”

3.1.2.2 Limitations and disadvantages

Apart from above-mentioned advantages, the North Central region’s tourismeconomy, with the tendency of international economic integration, is facing lots of