Designing tourism products for Dak Nong province in the perspectives of regional linkage

Abstract

The Central Highlands is a tourism region rich in natural tourism resources and unique cultural characteristics, forming Vietnam’s special tourist hubs such as Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot. In addition to these key hubs, there is another locality with great potential for the resources that are capable of creating a new tourism space associated with the typical natural landscape and unique ethnic cultural values: Dak Nong Province. With the advantages of available resources and the geographical location with accessibility to Ho Chi Minh City and the vicinity of the Central Highlands and South Central regions, Dak Nong is eligible to develop into a new tourism destination, creating a counterbalance, stimulating production and diversifying tourism services for the Central Highlands in general and Vietnam in particular. Based on the results of field research in July 2018 and January 2019, the paper proposes directions for designing Dak Nong’s overall tourism products in the perspectives of regional linkage. The viewpoint of the paper is that building tourism products is essential for tourism development and must be oriented towards establishing regional links. Designing Dak Nong’s tourism products in the perspectives of regional linkage needs to be based on the competitive advantages of each locality’s advantages. Unlike economic regional links in which the state plays an important role, the key role in these tourism value chains must be played by tourism enterprises; the State plays a leading role in creating an environment for these chains to work.