THE ISSUES OF CONNOTATION OF TOURISM TYPES AND CULTURAL
TOURISM PRODUCTS IN VIETNAM
Associate Prof. PhD Tran Duc Thanh1
Abstract: While there are many definitions of tourism products, although there is no high
consensus on its content. So far there are very few academic definitions of tourism types. Based
on the definitions’analysis of defferent tourism types in published works, especially in UNWTO
Understanding Tourism: Basic Glossary, and in UN Tourism: Glossary of tourism terms, this article
has pointed out the basic connotation of the notion of tourism types. On the basis of that concept,
the article has pointed out the differences between some specific tourism types and products to
clarify the proposed definition. The final part of the article points out the potential for developing
creative tourism products based on regional cultural characteristics in Vietnam in line with the
Government’s orientation for developing cultural industries.
Keywords: Types of tourism, tourism products, cultural tourism, creative tourism, cultural industry
1. TYPES OF TOURISM
Concept of tourism types
Tourism types and products are two quite familiar concepts,
especially for those in the tourism industry. However, while there are
many definitions of tourism products, very few documents provide
definitions of tourism types. This is an academic issue that needs
attention. In Vietnamese documents, there are only definitions of
tourism types by Truong Sy Quy (2003), Le Anh Tuan et al (2015),
Tran Duc Thanh & Tran Thi Mai Hoa (2017), and Tran Duc Thanh et al
(2022). According to Truong Sy Quy (2003), “a tourism type is a set of
tourism products with similar characteristics, either because they satisfy
1
VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
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similar travel needs and motivations, or are sold to the same group
of customers, or because they have the same distribution method, the
same organization, or are grouped together at a certain selling price”
(quoted in Nguyen Van Dinh & Tran Thi Minh Hoa 2008:64). Le Anh
Tuan et al (2015) have given a definition quite similar to the above
definition. “tourism type can be understood as a set of tourism products
with similar characteristics, or because they satisfy similar travel needs
and motivations, or they are sold to the same group of customers, or
they have the same distribution and organization methods” (p.33). The
two definitions above are approached from an economic perspective
and a marketing perspective. However, the type of tourism is not an
economic term but a type of human activity, that is, social. This is easily
seen in the explanations of each specific type of tourism. For example,
according to TOURISM RESULTS, a tourism consulting and business
center in Vienna, Austria, medical tourism is “a type of tourism activity
which involves the use of medical healing resources and services”,
Mountain tourism is “a type of tourism activity which takes place in a
defined and limited geographical space such as hills or mountains and
encompasses a broad range of outdoor leisure and sports activities”. All
types of tourism explained in the United Nations “Tourism Glossary”
use the word “activity” such as Business tourism (“a type of tourism
activity in which visitors travel for a specific professional and/or business
purpose to a place outside their workplace and residence with the aim
of attending a meeting, an activity or an event.”); Cultural tourism (“is
a type of tourism activity in which the visitor’s essential motivation is
to learn, discover, experience and consume the tangible and intangible
cultural attractions/products in a tourism destination”); Ecotourism (“is
a type of nature-based tourism activity in which the visitor’s essential
motivation is to observe, learn, discover, experience and appreciate
biological and cultural diversity with a responsible attitude to protect
the integrity of the ecosystem and enhance the well-being of the local
community”); Gastronomy tourism (“is a type of tourism activity which
is characterized by the visitor’s experience linked with food and related
products and activities while travelling”); Medical tourism (“is a type
of tourism activity which involves the use of evidence-based medical
healing resources and services”); Rural tourism (“is a type of tourism
TRAINING AND USING CULTURAL TOURISM HUMAN RESOURCES... 623
activity in which the visitor’s experience is related to a wide range of
products generally linked to nature-based activities, agriculture, rural
lifestyle / culture, angling and sightseeing).
We can see the same explaination in the definitions of other
types of tourism such as Sports tourism, Urban/city tourism, Health
tourism1. All those definitions start with “an activity”. Through these
specific definitions, we can understand that tourism type is a human
activity, that is, it is a social concept, not an economic term. In the two
definitions of Truong Sy Quy (2003) and Le Anh Tuan et al (2015), we
can see that the authors all believe that one of the connotations of the
concept of tourism type is “having similar characteristics”. Depending
on the classification criteria, they can be similar in terms of visit, of
tourism purposes, of customer components, etc. Thus, tourism type
is understood as a tourism activity that has a certain common characteristic
(Tran Duc Thanh, Tran Thi Mai Hoa 2017:79; Tran Duc Thanh et al.,
2022:312). Common characteristics can be the nature of the activity (such
as sightseeing, relaxing, exploring, experiencing, visiting, meeting,
etc. ); the characteristics of tourists (by ages, by occupation, by sex, by
job, etc.); the purpose of the trip (VFR, medical, hollymoon, MICE,
sport, educational…); the destination characteristics (rural, urban,
mountainous, coastal), means of transportation (bicycle, motorbike, car,
boat, train, plane, etc.), characteristics of the tourist group (solo travel,
group tourism, family tourism, etc.), organizational characteristics
(institutional, non-institutional), and so on.
Classification of tourism types
In documents and websites, including English academic documents,
many different types of tourism are listed. However, it is impossible to
list all types of tourism. Building a system to category tourism types
is a necessary scientific approach. To distinguish tourism types, many
criteria are used. A tourism activity, depending on the criteria, can be
named different types of tourism. For example, a group of veterans
traveling to a war relic can be called veteran tourism, nostalgia tourism,
or heritage tourism. Some common criteria in categorying tourism
1
https://www.unwto.org/glossary-tourism-terms
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types are accessibility to tourism resources, tourist needs (trip purpose),
geographical location, means of transportation, form of accommodation,
length of trip, age of tourists, form of trip organization kind of contract,
etc. (Nguyen Minh Tue et al 1998, Tran Duc Thanh 1999, Nguyen Van
Dinh and Tran Thi Minh Hoa 2009, Tran Duc Thanh et al 2022). This
classification is very meaningful, especially in creating suitable tourism
products to meet the needs of tourists. However, there are few English
documents presenting the classification of tourism types.
According to the tourism resource approach, tourism type can be
divided into nature tourism and cultural tourism.
2. TOURISM PRODUCTS
Tourism product concept
There are many definitions of tourism products. According to
the definition of UN Tourism, tourism product is “a combination of
tangible and intangible elements, such as natural, cultural and man-
made resources, attractions, facilities, services and activities around a
specific center of interest which represents the core of the destination
marketing mix and creates an overall visitor experience including
emotional aspects for the potential customers. A tourism product is
priced and sold through distribution channels and it has a life-cycle” 1.
Le Anh Tuan et al (2013) believe that “Tourism products are all goods
and services produced and provided by organizations with tourism
business functions to satisfy the needs of tourists during their travel”
(page 46). According to Clause 5, Article 3 of the Vietnam Tourism Law,
“Tourism products are a set of services based on the exploitation of
tourism resource values to satisfy the needs of tourists”. Jefferson and
Lickorish (1988) argue that a tourism product is “collection of physical
and service features together with symbolic associations which are
expected to fulfil the wants and needs of the buyer” (p. 59). Medlik
and Middleton (1973) conceptualize tourism products as a bundle
of activities, services, and benefits that constitute the entire tourism
experience. Lewis and Chambers (1989) argue that the tourism product
1
https://www.unwto.org/tourism-development-products
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consists of “goods, environment and services” (p.36). They further argue
that the product can be considered at three different levels: the “formal
product” or the product that the tourist believes he or she is buying; the
“core product” or the product that the tourist is actually buying; and
“augmented product”, which is the combination of the core product
plus any other value-added features and benefits provided by the
supplier. These three product levels reflect Levitt’s (1981) typology of
“core product” (essential service or benefit), “tangible product” (actual
service offered for sale and consumption), and “augmented product”
(tangible product plus all value-added features). According to Nguyen
Van Luu (1999, 2013), tourism demand includes two groups: demand
for tourism services and demand for goods. According to the author,
tourism service demand includes demand for main services, demand
for specific services, and demand for additional services. Suppliers
create products to meet the above needs. Middleton (1989) argues that
the concept of “tourism product” is used at two different levels. One is
the “specific” level, which is the level of a separate product provided
by a company such as a tour or a seat on an airplane. The other level is
the “total” level, which is the complete experience of the tourist from
leaving home until returning home. Jefferson and Lickorish (1988)
consider that, tourism product “is a satisfying activity at a desired
destination” (p.211). Agreeing with this point of view, Tran Duc Thanh
et al. (2022) recommend looking at the product from two different
perspectives: the perspective of the supplier and the perspective of the
consumer. According to the authors, “standing in the position of the
tourist, the tourism product is everything that the tourist enjoys during
the trip. For the tourism service provider, the tourism product is the
set of services necessary to satisfy the needs of the tourist during the
trip” (p. 356). Services that meet daily needs include food and beverage
services, accommodation as well as transportation services, which
are considered basic or main services. Hotels, restaurants or more
precisely, catering establishments provide food and accommodation
services to guests. Tourist transport service providers serve the travel
of guests. Travel companies combine the products of each supplier into
a service chain to serve guests throughout the trip through the work
of travel companies (operating and supervising the implementation of