Abstract
The concept of the circular economy has become well known for its solution-oriented approach to transforming available resources into a closed-loop resource system. However, in the context of coastal areas, coastal resources seem to be ignored in the tourism production and consumption process. In relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this article discusses how sharing economy practices may sustain coastal resources through ecotourism, applying a sharing-economy theory that emphasizes changes in the new form—a circular economy—rather than a single traditional Airbnb model or ecotourism model. This study proposes a coastal sustainable development structure model based on the integration between the sharing economy and ecotourism with three modes—positive economic effects, positive economic pressures, and sustainable coastal development—and uses coastal residents’ expectations of their living conditions as moderating factors to investigate the impact of the circular economy on coastal sustainability. We developed a survey-based model that included 303 samples from the indigenous residents of 13 provinces throughout the Vietnam Mekong Delta. The results show that the integration of ecotourism with the Airbnb model has a positive effect on residents’ living conditions, supporting sustainable local development. However, the advancement of technology and residents’ awareness involves barriers to coastal development because the process of modernization is still limited in coastal areas. More specifically, in the case of the Vietnam Mekong Delta, our results suggest that limited technical knowledge and language ability stand as barriers to coastal businesses, showing that the lack of inter-regional connectivity limits the magnitude of local tourism in coastal areas. These findings are useful for assessing residents’ living conditions so that coastal development can work towards poverty reduction. Finally, the establishment and expansion of policies by local authorities can be an indispensable part of coastal economic development by limiting the negative effects of the abuse of natural resources and facilitating family businesses in coastal zones in an effort towards the integration of economic development and social and environmental responsibility.
Highlights
Based on the VAC ecosystem, this study proposes a new model for the circular tourist economy in the Mekong Delta, bridging the gap between sharing economics and tourism by effectively utilizing unused living space, fruit picking, fishing, cycling tours, and boating activities to create economic benefits that address the problem of poverty reduction in coastal zones
As the sharing economy is the guiding principle of a sustainable ecosystem, affecting local resources [25,26], it is important to study its role in coastal zones [27]. This is promising because the values of the sharing economy are postulated as being important drivers of action in local sustainable development [28]. Contributing to this gap in the literature, this study focuses on the sharing economic theory and coastal ecosystems to examine whether this relationship positively benefits the livelihoods of coastal citizens
As per the above research, we propose that the circular economy has positive economic effects in terms of coastal development
Summary
Coastal resources are considered a crucial factor in the promotion of national coastal development, with a wide variety of benefits for human well-being. Coastal ecosystems are among the most productive on Earth, due to the variety of cultural diversity and rich resources [1,2] (estuaries and coastlines as well as adjacent land [3,4]). A coastal ecosystem is a major source of livelihood for coastal communities, providing a variety of attractive destinations and biological diversity that is considered a major factor to achieve the goal of ending global poverty, in all its forms, by 2030. There have been an additional 88 to 115 million people falling into extreme poverty during the COVID-19
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
