The community as a central actor in developing cultural industries associated with heritage conservation and sustainable tourism in Ninh Binh province

Abstract

In the context of cultural industries emerging as a new driver of development, the role of local communities is increasingly recognized as central to heritage preservation and sustainable tourism. This article clarifies the theoretical foundation for viewing communities as the “core actors’’ within the cultural-industry value chain-from safeguarding heritage and co-creating cultural products to benefiting from and monitoring heritage exploitation. Drawing on the case of Ninh Binh Province, the study analyzes the community’s key contributions to heritage protection, traditional craft revitalization, community-based tourism operations, and participation in digital tourism transformation. It also identifies major challenges, including the commercialization of heritage, limited community capacity, unequal benefit-sharing, and weak coordination among the State, enterprises, and local communities. Based on these findings, the article proposes a set of solutions that emphasize capacity-building for local communities, expanding co-management mechanisms, improving support policies, and developing distinctive cultural tourism products. The study concludes that empowering local communities as central actors is essential for fostering cultural industries in tandem with sustainable tourism development in Ninh Binh.