Spatial Justice and Post-Development Perspectives on Community-Based Tourism: Investment Disparities and Climate-Induced Migration in Vietnam

Hanna Hyun ()
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Hanna Hyun: Graduate School & Research Institute, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, Seoul 04965, Republic of Korea

Tourism and Hospitality, 2025, vol. 6, issue 4, 1-24

Abstract: Community-Based Tourism (CBT) refers to forms of tourism owned and managed by local communities, designed to enhance participation, empowerment, and equitable benefit-sharing. This study investigates how climate-induced migration and donor investment disparities shape the uneven development of CBT across Vietnam. The research pursues three aims: (1) to evaluate how macro- and micro-level funding structures influence CBT readiness; (2) to analyze how spatial justice and post-development critique illuminate structural inequalities in tourism investment; and (3) to assess the implications for climate-vulnerable and ethnic minority communities, including their underrepresentation in CBT research and policy discourse. Methodologically, the study undertakes a systematic review of CBT literature (2014–2025), a thematic analysis of donor and government reports (World Bank, ADB, IFAD), and an estimation of regional funding flows using narrative coding and text-based pattern analysis. Findings reveal a persistent geographic and institutional bias toward the Southern Mekong Delta, which benefits from climate-resilience projects and tourism-specific investments, while Northern Highlands regions remain marginalized, receiving only poverty-focused funding. The paper contributes by integrating spatial justice and post-development critique into tourism studies, demonstrating how donor-led “resilience” agendas can inadvertently reinforce spatial inequalities, and offering policy recommendations for more equitable CBT planning, funding, and scholarly attention across Vietnam’s diverse regions.

Keywords: Community-Based Tourism; spatial justice; investment disparity; Vietnam; climate induced-migration; IFAD; World Bank; ethnic minority regions; epistemic visibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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