Conflict between Tourism and Conservation at Nui Chua National Park, Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam

Abstract

Abstract In protected areas, particularly in national parks, tourism management requires a trade-off between ensuring the key values that support conservation and permitting visitors to appreciate those values. This conflict between conservation and tourism exploitation exists in most national parks around the world. Nui Chua National Park is in the most arid region of Vietnam. Despite that, it has a combination of forest, sea, and semi-desert landscapes that put it into the protected area system of Vietnam. Nui Chua National Park is open to tourists for various purposes. As such, the clash between tourism and conservation maintains as an issue at the park. This paper offers some insights about this conflict at Nui Chua National Park and proposes solutions to tackle this matter. The research is conducted using a qualitative approach. The data is collected using expert interview and in-depth interview method. Expert interview is used to extract information from park’s authority and experts. In-depth interview is used to ask the Raglai people who live within the park’s boundary and participate in some tourism activities. The results suggest that the conflict between conservation and tourism exploitation is in existence but not intensively. The author proposes a more scientific approach in managing tourist activities at Nui Chua National Park.