Finding important factors affecting local residents' support for tourism development in Ba Be National Park, Vietnam

The main purpose of this study was to examine local residents' attitudes and participation in tourism, and to explore factors which affect residents' support and participation in tourism in Ba Be National Park, Vietnam. Study findings suggest strategies to improve support from local people for additional tourism activities and participation in tourism. Data for this study was collected from 267 questionnaires from residents of three hamlets inside Ba Be National Park (Pac Ngoi, Bo Lu, and Coc Toc). The results of factor analyses of tourism impacts identified five factors: Social and Environmental Benefit (SEB), Personal Economic Benefit (PEB), Local Benefit (LB), Negative Social and Environmental Impacts (NSEI), and Negative Economic Impacts (NEI). Hypotheses testing revealed that, in rural areas, the community depends on natural resources, and community attachment of local residents significantly affects their perception of the positive tourism impacts. In addition, social and environmental impacts from tourism are considered very important factors in influencing local residents' support and participation in tourism.