Research Article
Eco and responsible tourism and effective community engagement: Learnings and considerations from the social enterprise sector in Vietnam
@ARTICLE{10.4108/eettti.7603, author={Michael Maher and Claire Paterson-Young}, title={Eco and responsible tourism and effective community engagement: Learnings and considerations from the social enterprise sector in Vietnam}, journal={EAI Endorsed Transactions on Tourism, Technology and Intelligence}, volume={2}, number={1}, publisher={EAI}, journal_a={TTTI}, year={2025}, month={4}, keywords={Ecotourism, Responsible Tourism, Hybridity, Social Enterprise, Vietnam}, doi={10.4108/eettti.7603} }- Michael Maher
Claire Paterson-Young
Year: 2025
Eco and responsible tourism and effective community engagement: Learnings and considerations from the social enterprise sector in Vietnam
TTTI
EAI
DOI: 10.4108/eettti.7603
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: In the eco and responsible tourism sector, social enterprises (organisations which fund their social mission through market activities) can meaningfully engage with local communities in their pursuit of social impact. OBJECTIVES: This paper explores the trade-offs social enterprises make to balance market viability and social mission within the eco and responsible tourism context, focusing on how these trade-offs intersect and impact organisational strategies. METHODS: The research adopts a thematic analysis of data collected from nine social enterprise organisations who partook in semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Two intersecting axes of trade-offs are presented: how beneficiaries are included in the development of market outputs, and the second on how its social value is dispersed. CONCLUSION: A framework is developed to enable self-reflection and evaluation of the trade-offs and risks involved to social mission and market viability.
Copyright © 2025 Michael Maher and Claire Paterson-Young, licensed to EAI. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, which permits copying, redistributing, remixing, transformation, and building upon the material in any medium so long as the original work is properly cited.
