Abstract:

Over many years, the Government of Vietnam made various statements on the importance of sustainability and tourism sector growth. Corporate tourism developers quickly followed suit with similar rhetoric, as did some sociological scholarship—at times promoting tourism uncritically and sometimes critiquing it unapologetically. This article is based on ethnographic observations of casino tourism development along the Hồ Tràm strip on the South-eastern Vietnamese coastline, both before and during COVID-19, as well as close commentary monitoring government statements, corporate press, and promotional sociological studies within tourism management. The article addresses target markets for casino tourism, planning, infrastructure, issues for workers in associated sectors, and environmental ecosystems with longer, toxic histories. What 'sustainability' means after COVID-19 might be questioned in the 'rebooting' of the tourism economy.

摘要：

多年来，越南政府就可持续发展和旅游业增长的重要性发表了各种声明。企业旅游开发商很快也提出了类似的言论，一些社会学学者也是如此——有时不加批判地促进旅游业，有时又毫无歉意地批评旅游业。本文基于对越南东南部海岸线 Hồ Tram 地带沿线赌场旅游发展的人种学观察（在 COVID-19 之前和期间），以及对政府声明、企业媒体和旅游领域促销社会学研究的密切关注管理。本文讨论了赌场旅游的目标市场、规划、基础设施、相关行业工人的问题以及具有较长有毒历史的环境生态系统。在 COVID-19 疫情之后，“可持续性”的含义可能会在旅游经济的“重启”过程中受到质疑。