Our weekend in Da Lat was filled with exciting, relaxing and delicious experiences. Da Lat is a hilly city that the French developed during their colonization as a get away (check). On our first day there we took a short drive to some waterfalls. When you walk through the gates there are a couple gift shops, a mini roller coaster and dance-y music playing, that if I recognized and recall correctly was in Spanish. When you finally arrive at the first falls there are more shops, including a booth with pictures displayed of tourists (mostly white or Japanese) dressed in traditional Vietnamese clothes in front of the waterfall. Then there is a bridge, many fake tree stumps to walk on and topped off with a fake tiger roaring at a fake giant bird. As you continue there is an elevator and a gondola.
There are definitely benefits to this kitschy destination and others like it. The biggest being how they create income for many people. We paid to get in, paid to ride the elevator and the gondola, and many people bought souvenirs. While these places may benefit the economy they have negative effects on the culture and the land. All of the additions to the waterfall scene (the gift shops, the fake décor, the elevator) distracted from the waterfall and made it seem like a piece of an imaginary scene. It was a replica of something real for tourists to observe a caricature of Vietnamese culture. The land around the waterfall was no longer natural, but was developed and can only be enjoyed by those who have the means to pay for it.
The next day we took a bus ride out of central Vietnam to a small town of ethnic minorities. There we were led on a surprise hike through a hilly coffee farm, complete with beautiful views, creek crossings and ended with coffee tasting. That night we spent the night in a national park nearby. The next day we took a different but equally as action packed hike as the first, through the national park. Pierre, the man who led us through the coffee farm and grows coffee himself talked with us about how these tours have the potential to be very beneficial to the impoverished ethnic minorities in the area and the whole town. As compared to the experience at the waterfall, this one was both more authentic and beneficial to the people and the land. First of all it gave us insight into what current life and land is like in the area. Secondly, money was being raised with a purpose to bring about change. The tour raised awareness (through us) about the ethnic minorities and the support they can use. Pierre spoke to us about how he hoped these tours would encourage visitors to either organize programs, which support and educate the people of the area in different ways, or at least create money for programs such as these. Also the waterfall caused the land to become more developed and altered, whereas destinations like the farm and the park and attraction to them would hopefully raise awareness about how the land needs to be preserved.
There are also some downsides to these attractions, for example in Doutriax’s article Competing for Coffee Space: Development-Induced Displacement in the Central Highlands of Vietnam she discusses the issue of Development Induced Displacement (DID). Specifically when ethnic minorities are forced to move off of land, which is becoming a national park or coffee farm, both of which we observed. Both of these experiences were enjoyable and were beneficial financially to people in one-way or another. They differ in that one was developed in order to attract tourism where as the other was developed and now is attracting tourism, which will hopefully prevent further development. Tourism of any kind has its benefits and drawbacks but I hope that as more tourism arises in this country it can be done in a way which one, shows insight into what life is really like and two, benefits the economy, the land and the citizens.