Entrepreneurialism and Tourism in Contemporary Vietnam

(Hardback)

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Entrepreneurialism and Tourism in Contemporary Vietnam examines the intersection of entrepreneurialism and the tourism industry in modern-day Vietnam and uses case studies from tourism operators in Ho Chi Minh City to understand the effects of market reforms on Vietnams society. The primary argument undertaken in this study is that in order to understand changes to the Vietnamese economy, one must take an approach that combines the cultural with the economic. The tourism case studies presented here collectively demonstrate that there is no easy analytic distinction between the cultural and economic dimensions of the Vietnamese tourism industry. The empirical material is primarily drawn from interviews with private tour operators and participant observation on tours. This book also examines the collaboration between the private sector and the Vietnamese government in the tourism industry. These coordinative entrepreneurial relationships between two unlikely bedfellows are shaped by the interpersonal exchanges that produce the tourism cultural-economy. Lastly, there are links between entrepreneurialism, tourism, and other case studies in urban Southeast Asia illustrated in the conclusion.

Reviews

Entrepreneurialism andTourism in Contemporary Vietnamexplores the entrepreneurial model ofpolitical governance in Ho Chi Minh Citys tourist industry. This is athought-provoking book that providesimportant insights into the processes ofdevelopment, entrepreneurialism, and tourism. This study is an intriguing and insightful contributionto tourism at the intersections of international capitalism, the state, andongoing debates surrounding the changing face of Vietnams economy. -- Kimberly Kay Hoang, University of Chicago
Jamie Gillens fascinating study of everyday life in the tourism industry in Ho Chi Minh City illuminates complex entanglements between culture and economy and between entrepreneurship and government. Resisting an easy distinction between socialism and the market economy, Gillen details how culture serves as a malleable resource for entrepreneurs and for officials, many of whom have adopted an entrepreneurial approach to contemporary governance. This book offers an important counter-narrative to claims that a globally ascendant neoliberalism is the primary motor driving contemporary economic policy in Vietnam. -- Ann Marie Leshkowich, College of the Holy Cross
Focusing on the diverse entrepreneurial activities that have created a vibrant tourism sector in Ho Chi Minh City today, this work unravels the complex relationships between private actors and local government agencies in their quest for the tourism dollar. Providing a critical framework for the study of tourism entrepreneurship, and being highly cognizant of the nuances of a post-socialist setting, the author examines how entrepreneurial relationships are built less on distinctions between state and non-state enterprises, and more on an intricate blend of market opportunities and complex informal relations. -- Sarah Turner, McGill University

Author Bio

Jamie Gillen is assistant professor of geography at the National University of Singapore.