The Con Ho Ecotourism Site, Tra Vinh: an Analysis of Policies and Local Community Expectations

Abstract

Con Ho, a small islet located on the Co Chien River in Duc My commune, Cang Long district, Tra Vinh province, is a typical riverside settlement with a wetland ecosystem, agricultural community life, and indigenous culture. In recent years, Con Ho has emerged as a model for community ecotourism development in the Mekong Delta region. This paper focuses on analyzing the relationship between ecotourism development policies from the central to local levels and the expectations, adaptations, and agency of the local community. The study employs a qualitative methodology, combining the fieldwork with a focus on participant observation and in-depth interviews, to approach the tourism development policy as a negotiated process at the local level. Within this process, stakeholders collectively interpret, adjust, and reshape the policy in ways that align with practical realities. This approach views the policy not merely as a set of pre-determined administrative directives, but as a meaning-making process, understood as a post-structural discourse.The research findings show that the Con Ho community does not passively accept policies, but actively participates in adjusting and reshaping their content and implementation methods, based on cultural-social conditions and local livelihood needs. The study thus contributes to expanding the understanding of tourism development policy as a flexible, multi-dimensional process closely tied to community realities.