Demand perspective of handicraft village – based tourism development at Phuong Duc village, Thua Thien Hue province

Abstract

Approached from tourists’ perspectives, this paper aims to examine tourists’ perception on opportunities and problems in development of handicraft village – based tourism (HBT) at Phuong Duc. The results show the positive signs that the key strengths of HBT at Phuong Duc are strongly embedded in the intrinsic values of a traditional handicraft village and being well recognized by tourists such as cultural values, product uniqueness and typical product design. Visitors also appreciate the tourism environment and the friendliness of local people at the Phuong Duc village. However, the common problems that hamper HBT at Phuong Duc, including weaknesses of its handicraft products (bulky products, unreasonable price, undiversified product lines), low business and language skills of local peoples, poor tourism supportive services, shortfalls in HBT management and marketing. In order to promote HBT at Phuong Duc, proper plan and solutions should be made for diversifying products, improving business and language skills for local people, and facilitating effective mechanism for better management and marketing for HBT at Phuong Duc.