The Purpose of the 2017 CBT Vietnam Project

The 2017 CBT Vietnam Project has officially begun. This years project is focused on visiting and researching up to six sites for future community based tourism projects. Stemming from the positive outcomes of the previous CBT Vietnam Project in Sapa, we have been invited by local, regional and national Government officials. The six different sites are located in Northern and Western Vietnam and Halong. The tourism potential of each site will be determined through the Weighted Sum Method and Asset Based Mapping. Findings will later be shared in an academic paper.

Map of Sites

Through speaking with a variety of diverse stakeholders, including residents, the public and private sector, tour operators and tourists, we have been accumulating information about the destinations. Other sources of information for each location have been collected through a PESTLE and SWOT analysis, informational interviews and academic reports. 

Zu from Dao’s Travel Agency

In order to successfully produce a CBT project, particular internal and external qualities are required; therefore we will also confirming the location has the following characteristics highlighted in Table 1.

Table 1: Characteristics of a Successful CBT Project

Importance	Characteristic
Crucial	Widespread community support
Crucial	External support	Tourism training
Crucial		Business Management
Crucial	Coordination and cooperation with business persons (rural entrepreneurs and Government)
Crucial	Support and participation from Government
Crucial	Accessing capital
Very important	Skill and attraction that are apart of traditional way of life
Important	Biodiversity conservation
Important	Great leadership
Important	Accessibility
Important	A complete tourism package
Important	Political stability

Another purpose of the 2017 CBT Vietnam Project is to evaluate the earlier project in Sapa, specifically Lao Chai and Taphin. Two students from the Management Centre Innsbruck will be conducting research to scale the benefits and impacts of the project.

To stay up to date with current activities, follow us on the following social channels:

Facebook: CBT Viet Nam

Instagram: cbtvietnam

Twitter: @CBTvietnam

If you are interested in learning more about the methodology, please contact Semele Jansen at semelejansen@my.capilanou.ca.