THE IMAGE OF STREET VENDING IN HOI AN THROUGH DOMESTIC VISITORS’ PERCEPTION

Abstract

For a very long time, the street vending in Hoi An currently exist and is also considered as a traditional cultural activity of Hoi An. Besides the socio-economic benefits, this activity also has some weaknesses. Therefore, the study aims to identify the images of street vending in the mind of visitors to support the management and promote Hoi An’s image to visitors. The methods of studying are combined qualitative and quantitative methods. The results of depth interviews of 68 visitors and survey with a structured questionnaire of 320 visitors show that: (1) street vendors have created a good impression on visitors, especially the local vendors and local cuisine; (2) impact to the environmental and traffic are two major problems that need to be solved. Based on this research, the study also proposes some suggestions for the street vending in Hoi An.