The importance of collaboration and emotional solidarity in residents’ support for sustainable urban tourism: case study Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Some sustainable tourism development studies address support issues for local communities as well as brand destination factors, but to date there has not been rigorous scrutiny of support for varieties of tourism in the urban context. The purpose of the study is to assess residents’ views and support for sustainable tourism development in urban destinations. A quantitative and cultural methodology is used in this study with the participation of 451 residents in three large communities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The study finds that: (1) the measure of communities’ support is determined by residents' perceptions, residents’ perception of value, collaboration and emotional solidarity with their community; (2) there is a relationship between collaboration and emotional solidarity in the context of sustainable development. Thus, the paper carefully considers the two significant factors of collaboration and emotional solidarity in assessing influences upon residents’ support for sustainable tourism development. The findings provide more useful evidence for planning and managing sustainable development as well as in marketing strategies in other areas of tourism, such as industry infrastructure and transportation links, quality of hospitality and service facilities and archeological effort to develop urban travel offerings of historical interest.