Ethnic minority community access to popular culture in the context of tourism (case of Thai ethnic group in Lac Village, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh, Vietnam)

Abstract Tourism is a growing service economic sector that creates jobs for many communities in the world. Ethnic minority communities in many countries are also now taking part in tourism activities. Vietnam is a country with great potentials for natural landscapes, historical values, indigenous culture of ethnic groups with habits and lifestyles, rich culinary culture of regions. It is the basis for development of tourism. Through tourism, tourists will understand the daily life of indigenous peoples, but at the same time people in these ethnic minority communities will have the opportunity to access popular cultural phenomena. This thesis discusses the ethnic minority communities’ access to popular culture through tourism such as mass media, popular culinary culture or mass tourism. The case study was conducted in a village of ethnic minorities in Hoa Binh province, North Vietnam which has been undergoing changes under the impact of tourism in recent years.