Tour guides′ perspectives on agrotourism development in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Abstract

The discussion on agrotourism development has focused on the perspectives of several tourism stakeholders, however, limited research has explored the viewpoints of tour guides operating in this area. This research investigated tour guides’ perspectives on agrotourism development in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, to explore why agrotourism in this region remains an underexploited potential. We conducted interviews from October 2020 to July 2021 with 30 tour guides who have had opportunities and authentic experiences of tourism development based on their rich travel experiences in the region. This qualitative research showed that the Mekong Delta has a great potential for agrotourism development in Vietnam; however, many challenges prevent the same. Farmers face difficulties in creating attractive tourism products and activities, as they lack the capacity to broadly advertise. Agrotourism products are also similar in many tourist destinations in the region. Furthermore, regional coordination and partnership among stakeholders are lacking in agrotourism. A consistent tourism policy should be implemented among provinces to develop tourism more effectively. These findings inform rural development policymakers and expand the agrotourism literature by elucidating tour guides’ perspectives, which have received scant attention.