A comparison of stakeholder perspectives of tourism development in Sapa, Vietnam

Abstract

Weber’s theory of formal and substantive rationality (WFSR) explains the range of people’s motivations when engaging in different forms of economic activity. Human rationality is driven by formal rationality, which focuses on economic gains, and substantive rationality which considers non-economic factors such as power, trust, and cultural values that could offset the shortcomings of social exchange theory (SET). The study used the exploratory sequential mixed method including semi-structured interviews with key tourism stakeholders and follow-up survey. Most stakeholders from both groups agreed that tourism brings about economic benefits and employment opportunities; however, tourism results in adverse environmental and cultural impacts. Sapa stakeholders generally support tourism development for both economic and non-economic reasons. The findings of this study do support that the SET and Weber’s theory explain the contradictory perspectives of multiple ethnic groups in the community. Specifically, in this study, the perspectives of Kinh respondents regarding impacts of tourism development were found to be quite contradictory compared to those of the ethnic minority groups. Such contradictions could present a challenge to the application of participatory approaches in tourism development and the development of a “shared vision” among tourism stakeholders. Implications for tourism planners and suggestions for future research are also discussed.