Preliminary Assessment of Nature-Based Tourism Resources in the Buffer Zone of Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam

Abstract

The buffer zone plays a key role as an ecological barrier for protected areas. Socio-economic conditions of the residents relate not only to the development of provincial regions but also to the success of conservation strategies for the protected areas. Recent studies revealed that the local communities surrounding Bach Ma National Park, Vietnam, especially ethnic minority communities that utilize forest resources for their economic livelihoods, could contribute to biodiversity loss. Alternative livelihoods could be an effective solution to reducing their dependences on forest resources. In this study, we employed a GIS-based criteria approach to evaluate nature-based tourism resources. Forest management units in the buffer zone within Dong Giang District, Quang Nam Province were chosen as study units. Twelve meetings with sixty local representatives were organized to identify potential destinations. This study proposed three criteria for the assessment of the suitability to tourism development. The first criterion is “attraction”, which is scored by evaluating diversity of landscape, destination potential, and topographic characteristics. The second criterion is “accessibility”, which evaluated the distance from main road to tourism resources, and the third is “adaptation”, which is scored based on local legal scenarios pertaining to land use management and usage. These criteria led to the identification of eleven potential destinations and eight forest management units, which have a high potential for nature-based tourism development. The results of this study show that there are bright prospects for improving local livelihood by the tourism development in the buffer zone.