Vietnam tour operators and responsible tourism: a behavioural approach.

Abstract

Abstract The essence of responsible tourism (RT) is that it is not merely a solution to sustainable development either by the types of products or by the scale of operation, but a fundamental change in a set of values and actions that results in an improvement of tourism activities involving all stakeholders including tourists, tourism service suppliers, the local community and tourism managers. With their unique position in the tourism system, tour operators serve as the hub for connecting diverse stakeholders in tourism, ranging from tourists to the local community to local destination authorities. A tour operator can offer RT products and services to motivate and educate tourists in consuming tourism in responsible ways and can concurrently improve awareness in local communities as well as contributing benefits to the tourism destination across the three aspects of the economy, society and the environment. Furthermore, these tourism enterprises know how to reach visitors through publications and the media, thereby connecting sustainable tourism destinations with customers. Despite tour operators' essential role, there exists a gap in the literature regarding their RT behaviours and implementation in the context of Vietnam. This chapter thus seeks to bridge this gap through a qualitative research approach.