A STUDY ON THE IMPACTS OF TOURISM ACTIVITIES ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND SOLUTIONS TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE NATIONAL PARK PHONG NHA – KE BANG

Abstract

The National Park Phong Nha - Ke Bang was recognized as the World Natural Heritage by the UNESCO on 05/07/2003. This is a new milestone for the development of tourism in Quang Binh. Since it was recognized as the world natural heritage, the number of tourists coming to do sightseeing and to do research has been increasing. This has caused many different influences on the economic and social development, especially on the natural environment. Therefore, the question set out here is how to manage and develop tourism as well as use and protect the environmental resources rationally and effectively.  In this paper, the process of tourism activities taking place in the national park Phong Nha - Ke Bang is studied; accordingly the analysis and the evaluation of  the impact of tourist activities on the natural environment are implemented and reasonable solutions to ensure that tourism can develop without damaging the environmental quality are proposed.