Perception and amelioration of tourism impact on coastal environment in Vietnam

Tourism is considered as one of the world's fastest growing industries and is a major economic sector in tropical developing countries. In Vietnam, coastal tourism is also a significant portion of the national economy, due to its diverse coastal environment with a variety of ecosystems and a tremendous potential for developing coastal tourism. In recent years, coastal tourism has strongly developed with the number of tourists and revenue continuously increased every year. Unplanned tourism development causes negative impacts on coastal environment and ecosystems, and further increase with exploitation unless amelioration measures are adopted. This study aims at evaluating the impact of costal tourism and propose mitigation strategies to minimize negative impacts for sustainable tourism development. Coastal tourism has caused loss of marine biological diversity, coral reefs cover change, and environmental pollution. Field surveys research methods are used to assess the tourists and local residents’ perception on sustainable tourism development and their awareness on the negative environmental impact of tourism activities. This information may aid policy makers, tourism developers in formulating best solutions to manage and to protect biodiversity, natural resources and to control environmental pollution.