"Stop riding… and laugh with the elephant."

Báo Đắk Lắk•14/05/2023

08:34, 14/05/2023

Instead of riding on the backs of elephants as before, tourists visiting Dak Lak's elephant tourism products will now participate in friendly interactive activities with elephants such as feeding them and taking photos with them.

Laughing with the Elephant

As a place offering a unique and attractive tourist experience – elephant riding – Dak Lak , however, due to the decline of the domesticated elephant population in the province, in order to contribute to the conservation of the domesticated elephant population, the local government and tourism units have shifted the tourism model from elephant riding to elephant-friendly tourism.

The Biệt Điện Tourism and Hotel Branch ( thuộc Công ty TNHH MTV Xuất nhập khẩu 2-9 Đắk Lắk) is a pioneer in discontinuing elephant riding activities at the Buôn Đôn Suspension Bridge Tourism Center (from February 10, 2023) and switching to an elephant-friendly tourism model. Visitors will participate in activities such as feeding elephants, observing elephants, and taking photos with elephants, with the message "Stop riding… smile with elephants".

Tourists watch elephants while enjoying a buffet.

Mr. Le Duc Huy, General Director of 2-9 Dak Lak Import-Export Company Limited, shared: “We are developing elephant-friendly experiential tourism products with the desire to change the concept of elephant tourism. We want tourists to come to Dak Lak not just to ride elephants, but because of their love for the elephant herd and to remember Dak Lak as a land with elephants. Tourists will surely feel happy to have met the elephant in person. And if given the opportunity, they will return to visit and care for it again.”

To conserve elephants, in July 2018, Animals Asia supported Dak Lak province in implementing a project to transform the tourism model at Yok Don National Park into an elephant-friendly tourism model, aiming to end elephant riding tourism within the park. This is the first elephant-friendly tourism model in Vietnam and has received attention and support from both domestic and international communities. Accordingly, from 2018 to the present, Animals Asia has negotiated and brought six domesticated elephants to live in Yok Don National Park. The tourism program is also a sustainable solution as it ensures the health and freedom of the elephants while creating livelihoods for local people.

Let's change together.

In fact, transforming the elephant tourism model is a necessary step for tourism businesses and elephant owners alike in order to conserve the domesticated elephant population from extinction. However, this transformation also faces many challenges, especially in terms of impacting tourism revenue and the livelihoods of elephant owners.

Mr. Nguyen Duc, Deputy Director of the Biệt Điện Tourism and Hotel Branch, directly managing the Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourism Center, said that although preparations had been made months in advance to develop alternative tourism products and train tour guides for elephant-friendly tours, the unit still faced many difficulties and experienced a significant decrease in revenue when the elephant riding service was stopped (from February 10, 2023). In light of this situation, the unit encouraged and provided some support to families with elephants to focus on caring for them, helping them learn and gradually adapt to the new tourism model.

Tourists experience feeding elephants at the Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Center.

At the end of 2022, the People's Committee of Dak Lak province approved a project to support the transformation of elephant riding tourism into elephant-friendly tourism in the province. The project aims to completely replace elephant riding tourism, while also supporting elephant owners, mahouts, and elephant care centers to ensure the conservation, care, and longevity of elephants. The project is funded by over 55 billion VND from Animals Asia (AAF). However, to ensure the sustainable development of this model, in addition to conservation funding, the collaboration of tourism businesses and elephant owners remains crucial. Furthermore, it requires enhanced training for elephants in various movements, professional photography training, and continuous improvement and enhancement of the quality of elephant-related tourism services.

Minh Thuan

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