Socio-Economic Aspects of Cultural Landscapes: Attitudes of Local Residents and Visitors in a Small Mountainous City at the Sino-Vietnamese Border

Cultural heritage sites are important for tourism and its development. However, analysis and assessment of the socio-economic aspects of cultural landscapes have not been performed yet in Vietnam. This study investigates the economic value and the cause–effect relationships among the five DPSIR categories (drives–pressures–state–impacts–responses) of cultural assets in Bac Ha Town in the Lao Cai Province of northern Vietnam. The results are based on the answers of 50 visitors on a questionnaire allowing to apply the zonal travel cost method (ZTCM); 43 local residents completed a questionnaire targeted to use the contingent valuation method, and 39 respondents replied to the questionnaire based on a detailed DPSIR framework. The results show that cultural heritage assets including the Bac Ha traditional market, the Hoang A Tuong palace and the Bac Ha temple offer unique assets and represent a most significant tourism potential. The total value of these heritage assets was estimated at approximately 0.3 million $US. However, tourism is not planned properly in Bac Ha. Building infrastructure and tourism development are ranking now among the most important pressures affecting the cultural landscape, while less support is provided to the developing production sector which is also important for tourism. This applies to growing indigenous plants and animals, which are local cultural expressions and environmental quality.