VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENTS RESEARCH REPORT SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT BASED ON DOMESTIC VISITORS' BEHAVIORS: A CASE OF '10 RELIGIOUS ATTRACTIONS' IN VIETNAM Team Leader: Đặng Ngọc Châu Anh ID: 21073153 Class: HOST2021B Hanoi, April 15th, 2024 TEAM LEADER INFORMATION I. Student profile - Full name: Dang Ngoc Chau Anh - Date of birth: 29/09/2003 - Place of birth: Hanoi - Class: HOST2021B Picture 4x6 - Program: Hospitality, Sport, and Tourism Management - Address: Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi - Phone no.41 Good 2nd year (9/2022-5/2023) 3.66 Good 3rd year (9/2023-1/2024) 3. Other achievements: The Encouragement of Academic Excellence Scholarship Semester II of the academic year 2022-2023 – 1st Good Hanoi, April 15th , 2024 Advisor Team Leader (Sign and write fullname) (Sign and write fullname) Bùi Vũ Lương Đặng Ngọc Châu Anh Table of Contents I. The necessity of research project.
Research Objectives and Scope. Sustainable tourism, sustainability in Vietnam's tourism. Impact of spiritual tourism on sustainability. Intention to revisit .6 H1: Spiritual identity impacts on the tourist’ satisfaction.
7 H2: Spiritual dependence impacts on the tourist’ behavioral satisfaction. 7 H3: Tourist satisfaction impacts on the destination revisit intention. 8 H4: Revisit intention of tourists positively affect the sustainability of spiritual tourism. Study subject characteristics.
Overall experience of Vietnam domestic tourists at the religious attractions. Intention to revisit the 10 religious destinations of Vietnamese tourists. The relationship of the tourist’ satisfaction and overall experience in 10 Religious destinations in Vietnam. Conclusion and recommendations.
27 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Study subject characteristics. 11 Table 2: Difficulties and obstacles that domestic tourists encountered at spiritual sites. Improvements or additions of domestic tourists which they recommend to enhance the spiritual tourism experience in Vietnam. Activities of domestic tourists at the spiritual tourism destination.
15 Table 5: The factors that effect on the intention to return the spiritual sites. 17 Table 6: The purpose of visiting the spiritual destinations. 18 Table 7: The attractive factors in spiritual destinations. 19 Table 8: The activities in spiritual places.
20 Table 9: The Likert scales of tourist’ satisfaction and overall experiences in 10 Religious destinations in Vietnam. 21 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.10 INTRODUCTION SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT BASED ON DOMESTIC VISITORS' BEHAVIORS: A CASE OF '10 RELIGIOUS ATTRACTIONS' IN VIETNAM 1. Project Code KT. Member list No Full name ID Class 1 Đặng Ngọc Châu Anh 21073153 HOST2021B 2 Nguyễn Minh Châu 21073171 HOST2021B 3 Nguyễn Mai Trang 21073077 HOST2021B 3.
Advisor Bui Vu Luong – MA – Faculty of Economics and Management 4. Abstract (300 words or less): The tourism industry with many forms of traveling is developing very strongly, both before and after the COVID-19 period, which affected the world economy. In Vietnam, the spiritual tourism is always a topic that has been discussed in scholars recently. With religious diversity, Vietnam is considered to be an attractive destination for tourists to seek peace of mind and spirituality, especially Vietnamese tourists.
Understanding those, the paper aims to deeply mention the needs of domestic customers to participate in this tourism from 10 spiritual tourism destinations in Vietnam, and the factors that affect their participation in this form of tourism industry. Return of Vietnamese tourists and thereby highlight its recent effects on Vietnam's economic sustainability. The study used a survey and collected 347 responses. The results are related to the overall experiences of tourists at spiritual sites through participating in activities, attractions, and difficulties.
A policy recommendation have also been proposed from satisfaction and evaluation of the overall experience at spiritual sites, thereby providing factors for tourists' decision to return. Survey data were compiled and analyzed by the Stata 14 application. This finding holds information about the effect of tourist satisfaction on the intention to revisit and the implication of spiritual places in sustainable tourism in Vietnam. Keywords: sustainable tourism, spiritual tourism, tourist satisfaction, intention to revisit I.
Introduction Tourism is increasingly contributing to GPD (($9.6 trillion), creating jobs (($333 million) and preserving cultural heritages in a destination. Therefore, Sustainable tourism development (UNWTO) has been receiving more and more attention from researchers, and parallel with it, spiritual tourism (UNWTO) that is a form of cultural tourism is growing and satisfying domestic tourists' needs through cultural and spiritual elements. But, not many researches have shown that domestic visitors’ behavior based on multi-indicator cross-research has affected sustainable tourism in some localities, typically "Religious Attractions". Vietnam as a case study, with its long history, cultural traditions, and captivating religious sites, provides the ideal setting for this investigation.
This study provides methodological considerations useful for monitoring and assessing tourism sustainability, and provides methodological tools and decision-making references for the development of spiritual tourism in religious attractions in Vietnam and other similar regions around the world. The necessity of research project With the continuous development of the economy, spiritual tourism has become an essential activity in people’s recreation. The previous literature review summarizes the current research status on sustainable tourism and the impact of domestic tourists’ behavior on religious attractions. The monitoring and evaluation research of sustainable tourism development indicators is still in its infancy, and the trade-offs and synergies among sustainable tourism development indicators are also complex.
Therefore, this study focuses on the degree of coordinated development of religious attractions in Vietnam from the following aspects of the behavior of domestic tourists. Hence, 10 religious attractions in Vietnam as the study area and use data on tourism development between 2022 and 2024 to study domestic tourists’ behavior on tourism development, aiming to provide a reference for decision-making on tourism development in Vietnam’s religious attractions. Research Objectives and Scope In Vietnam, there are not many studies using multiple indicators related to spiritual tourism under the sustainable development goals. Therefore, the relationship between, sustainable tourism development and domestic tourists’ behavior is examined in the case of 10 religious attractions in Vietnam.
The destinations have been carefully selected as follows: - Ba Chua Su Temple - Chau Doc, An Giang - Ba Den Pagoda - Tay Ninh - Bai Dinh Pagoda - Ninh Binh - Hung Temple - Phu Tho - Statue of Guanyin Buddha - Huong Thuy, Thua Thien Hue - Truc Lam Zen Monastery - Da Lat - Huong Pagoda - Hanoi - Yen Tu Mountain - Quang Ninh - Ba Chua Kho Temple - Bac Ninh - Truc Lam Zen Monastery - Vinh Phuc From the behaviors, behavioral satisfaction, and travel needs of tourists are clarified and from there, the relationship between consumers' travel behavior and the decision to return and thereby create a conclusion can be concluded. out the relationship to the sustainability of tourists. Therefore, the research questions are: ● What does spiritual tourism mean in Vietnam? What is the effect of spiritual tourism on economic sustainability in Vietnam? ● How do domestic tourists’ behavior and revisit intention affect on spiritual tourism based on the 10 religious attractions in Vietnam? ● How does domestic tourists’ behavior affect sustainable tourism development? 1. Research Methods The research group uses quantitative methods to collect and analyze data from online survey questionnaires via Google form, from 15/2/2024 to 15/3/2024.
The survey questionnaire was divided into 3 sections: Socio-demographic information about the participants; Their behaviors; Intention to return. During data analysis, use descriptive statistical methods to analyze demographic data such as distribution by gender, age, education level, occupation, and marital status. Use independent variable analysis to determine the relationship between demographic factors and spiritual travel behavior and the possibility of return. Linear regression analysis to identify factors affecting the frequency of participating in spiritual tourism, evaluating the experience, and the possibility of return.
We refer to reputable scientific articles with similar topics to build a survey questionnaire and make reasonable improvements to the tourism industry environment in Vietnam. We used Stata 14 software to analyze the obtained data and find the results of this research. Sustainable tourism, sustainability in Vietnam's tourism Sustainable tourism is defined by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) as tourism activities that meet the needs of present tourists and local communities while protecting and enhancing opportunities for future tourism, to develop tourism based on three pillars: economic, social, and environmental. The concept of sustainable tourism first appeared at the Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro.
Since then, it has been developed and applied by many international organizations such as WTO, UNEP, UNWTO, etc. (Tran, 2018) The demand for sustainable tourism is increasing from tourists and stakeholders. Many countries and regions have developed strategies and policies for sustainable tourism development. International non-governmental and governmental organizations also actively promote sustainable tourism through programs, projects, and support activities.
(Doan, 2019) The tourism industry in Vietnam is growing rapidly, but there are still many limitations regarding sustainability. Some issues include environmental pollution, excessive exploitation of natural resources, and impacts on local culture. Vietnam possesses great potential for sustainable tourism development: rich cultural heritage, diverse natural landscapes, and friendly people. The Vietnamese government has committed to developing sustainable tourism and has implemented various supportive policies.
(Thanh, 2023) Increasing awareness among stakeholders about sustainable tourism, establishing and applying sustainable tourism standards, and enhancing investment in infrastructure and human resources are directions that the Vietnamese tourism industry needs to focus on for sustainable tourism development. (Bui, 2023) Sustainable tourism is an inevitable trend for the global tourism industry and Vietnam. Developing sustainable tourism requires the cooperation of stakeholders: government, businesses, local communities, and tourists. Definition Spiritual tourism is part of the tourism sector, a broader scope that includes both natural and cultural tourism.
Before we further define spiritual tourism, it is necessary to understand the definition of the concept of spirituality. Spirituality can be understood as a journey of self-discovery, the pursuit of higher desires, or the search for the divine. More specifically, it involves aspects of religion, behavior, emotions, or thoughts that seek transcendence (Shah Rukh Khalid and Barktiar Ali, 2023). Spiritual tourism includes visiting sacred sites, participating in or observing religious ceremonies, and pilgrimages to fulfill religious obligations.
It is more abstract than religious tourism, as it is not limited to religious activities but also includes spiritual, cultural, and historical experiences (Ali Heidari et al, 2018). Impact of spiritual tourism on sustainability. The impact of spiritual tourism is not limited to providing religious experiences but also opens a new door in the field of education and human awareness. When visiting spiritual sites, visitors are not only exposed to the teachings and ethics of the religion they follow but are also imparted with faith and broad knowledge about people and culture and environment.
During sermons at spiritual sites, believers are often taught about human values such as benevolence, retribution, and ethical living (Samdhinimocanasūta, 1994). These lessons are not only meaningful in forming personal faith but also positively influence the behavior and thoughts of visitors. As a result, after a spiritual trip, many people return with a more responsible spirit and more concern for the community and surrounding environment (Sirirat, 2019). Spiritual tourism destinations not only bring economic benefits but also have profound impacts on local communities and the social environment.
Attracting millions of tourists to visit spiritual destinations every year creates great demand for services and human resources in the tourism industry, thereby creating significant employment opportunities for residents. The development of spiritual tourism helps reduce poverty rates and promote local economic development while reducing urbanization pressure in big cities (Sirirat, 2019). For a specific example, at Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam, the profession of ferry and boat driving has become an indispensable part of the local community. Under the government's sponsorship, this profession has been planned and made more secure, thereby creating favorable conditions for the development of spiritual tourism.
Each boatman plays an important role as a tour guide while ensuring safety and an enjoyable experience for tourists (vietnamtourism, 2017). Although spiritual tourism brings many benefits, it also causes environmental and cultural problems. The rapid growth of tourist numbers can pollute the environment and destroy spiritual relics.