RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF RURAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT — THE CASE STUDY OF DA LAT CITY, VIETNAM

Tourism development in any destination can bring about positive and negative impacts on the natural environment and social and economic aspects. Da Lat, an emerging tourist destination in Vietnam, is confronted with the positive and negative environmental impacts of tourism, especially in rural areas. Several studies have explored the effect of tourism. However, only few studies have focused on the environmental impacts of tourism development in the rural area of a developing country. On this basis, this research aims to: (i) investigate residents’ positive and negative perceptions of the environmental impacts of tourism development in the rural areas of Da Lat city, (ii) examine the influences of age, gender, length of residence, economic dependency on their perception, attitude and supportiveness; and (iii) investigate the influences of the independent variables (residents’ socio-demographic features, perception and attitude) on residents’ supportiveness. This work involved a case study of four rural communes, namely, Xuan Truong, Xuan Tho, Ta Nung and Tram Hanh at Da Lat City, and a stratified sampling technique was used. This study utilised a quantitative research method by using face-to-face questionnaires with a total of 305 usable responses. The findings revealed that the residents’ perception on the environmental impacts of tourism are influenced by age, length of residence and economic dependency. Majority of the residents’ demonstrated a positive perception on the environmental impacts of tourism and support the tourism development even though the actual environmental effect is visible at Da Lat city. Attitude is the most significant variable that affect residents’ supportiveness. This empirical study may provide the current situation on the supportiveness of residents in Da Lat destination that may benefit the decision-maker in conserving environmental sustainability as a tourism destination.