Mobilizing Cultural-Humanistic Resources for Community-Based Tourism Development among the Thai Ethnic Group in Vietnam’s Northern Mountainous Region

Abstract

Cultural-humanistic resources are crucial to the development of community-based tourism (CBT) in ethnic minority regions, including the Thai ethnic group in Vietnam’s Northern Mountainous Region. This article examines the major components of Thai cultural-humanistic resources, namely cultural heritage, cultural institutions, and political institutions, and analyzes how these resources are mobilized in community-based tourism. Drawing on Clifford Geertz’s symbolic interpretation of culture, sustainable development theory, and Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital, the study employs ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and the analysis and synthesis of secondary materials, including published studies, statistical data, and policy documents. The findings show that Thai cultural-humanistic resources possess substantial value for tourism development because they embody local worldviews, communal knowledge, artistic creativity, and adaptive relationships with the natural environment. Nevertheless, their current use also reveals several challenges, including cultural commodification, uneven community capacity, weak coordination among cultural and political institutions, and tensions between heritage preservation and market-oriented tourism. The article argues that sustainable CBT among Thai communities requires a shift from the superficial display of cultural elements to the creation of living cultural spaces in which communities remain active subjects of heritage interpretation, tourism governance, and benefit sharing. It concludes by proposing orientations for community empowerment, cultural identity preservation, and sustainable tourism development in Vietnam’s northern mountainous ethnic minority areas.