“Stop riding… laugh with the elephant”

08:34, May 14, 2023

Instead of riding on the backs of elephants like before, now when coming to Dak Lak elephant tourism products, visitors will participate in friendly interactive activities with elephants such as: feeding elephants, taking pictures with elephants...

Laughing with elephants

Being a place that provides a typical type of tourism - elephant riding is very attractive to tourists when coming to Dak Lak . However, due to the decline of domesticated elephants in the province, to join hands in preserving domesticated elephants, local authorities as well as tourism units have converted the tourism model from elephant riding to elephant-friendly.

The Biet Dien Tourism and Hotel Branch (under Dak Lak 2-9 Import-Export Company Limited) is the pioneer in stopping elephant riding activities at Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Center (from February 10, 2023) and switching to an elephant-friendly tourism model. Visitors will participate in activities such as feeding elephants, watching elephants, taking pictures with elephants, etc., with the message "Stop riding... laugh with elephants".

Elephant watching tourists enjoy buffet party.

Mr. Le Duc Huy, General Director of Dak Lak 2-9 Import-Export Company Limited, shared: “We carry out elephant experience tourism products in a friendly way, with the desire to change the concept of elephant experience tourism. Tourists come to Dak Lak not because of the desire to ride elephants but because of their love for elephants and remember Dak Lak because this land has elephants. Tourists will definitely feel happy when they are the ones who have met that elephant directly. And if they have the opportunity, they will come back to visit and take care of it again.”

To preserve elephants, in July 2018, Animals Asia supported Dak Lak province to implement the project to transform the elephant-friendly tourism model at Yok Don National Park to end elephant riding tourism activities in the Park. This is the first elephant-friendly tourism model in Vietnam and has received attention and support from the domestic and international communities. Accordingly, from 2018 to present, Animals Asia has negotiated and brought 6 domesticated elephants to live in Yok Don National Park. The tourism program is also a sustainable solution that ensures the health and freedom of elephants, while still creating a livelihood for local people.

Together for change

In fact, converting the elephant tourism model is a necessary and necessary thing for tourism businesses as well as elephant owners to do in order to preserve the domesticated elephant herd from the risk of extinction. However, the conversion also faces many challenges, especially affecting tourism revenue as well as the livelihood of elephant owners.

Mr. Nguyen Duc, Deputy Director of Biet Dien Tourism and Hotel Branch, direct manager at Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourism Center, said that although there had been preparations many months in advance for the work of building alternative tourism products and training skills to guide tourists when participating in elephant-friendly tours... but when the elephant riding service was stopped (from February 10, 2023), the unit also encountered many difficulties, revenue was greatly reduced. In that situation, the unit also encouraged and partially supported households with elephants to focus on taking care of elephants so that they could learn and gradually get used to the new exploitation model.

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

At the end of 2022, the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee approved a project to support the conversion of elephant riding tourism to elephant-friendly tourism in the province. The project aims to completely replace elephant riding tourism, while supporting owners, elephant trainers and elephant care centers to ensure that elephants are preserved, cared for and have their lifespan extended. The project's funding source is more than 55 billion VND, sponsored by Animals Asia (AAF). However, to ensure the sustainable development of this model, in addition to the issue of conservation funding, the support of tourism businesses and elephant owners is still a key factor. Along with that, it is necessary to strengthen training for elephants in many movements, train professional photographers, and continuously improve and enhance the quality of elephant experience tourism services.

Minh Thuan

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