Vietnam’s Tourism Learning intention: To look at the growth of tourism and compare it regionally.

Official Tourism Site http://www.vietnamtourism.com/ What is this site telling you about Vietnam and tourism?

Numbers of Visitors to Vietnam

Where do they come from?

Where exactly do they come from? Do the sources of tourism surprise you? Why or why not?

The Upside of Tourism Foreign Dollars into the Economy – can be a fantastic boost to countries coffers Investment into tourist based infrastructure helps locals as well Creates jobs and new market for goods that would not be there if not for the tourism Helps provide reasons to preserve cultural artifacts – people often visit to see culture and history Develops cultural relations and understanding both on the individual level and as a greater society

The Downsides Too much reliance on overseas money means there are going to be some very bad years (check out 2009) Us vs. Them – rich people flaunting money can lead to intercultural relation problems or focused crime Planning for tourists can change the character of the country Unethical tourism – tourism for things like the sex trade