Identification of Criteria for the Sustainable Ecotourism Management

Developing the Ecotourism Management Criteria and Indicators (EMC&I) can lead to greater understanding of ecotourism (Hollenhorst 1994). The EMC&I are useful tools for improving the quality of ecotourism and for assessing sustainability of the ecotourism management (Abidin 1999). While many ecotourism destinations in the world have their own EMC&I, no such case is reported so far in Vietnam. Besides, the term ‘ecotourism’ seems to be misused and not fully understood nationwide (Lam 2004). The main findings of this study are that (1) Bach Ma ecotourism is a seasonal, daily and weekend visited mountainous resort destination; (2) The NP staff, local and foreign tourist groups are not significantly different in perception on Priority Rating of SEMC; (3) The expert, local people, tourist agencies and tourist groups are significantly different in Priority Rating of SEMC; (3) Most groups highly prioritize the criteria on nature conservation and environmental education promotion, but not highly favor the criterion on local culture maintenance; and (4) The setting up the public mean priority ranked list of SEM criteria for the area.