Offering Trips to Longsheng: Is This a Responsible Thing to Do?

Bringing Tourism to Longsheng: Is This a Responsible Thing to Do?

At Viori, our commitment to Longsheng has been strong and ongoing. For the past 4 years, we have supported the community through our Beautiful Reason Initiatives (BRI)—a series of projects funded by Viori's profits and directly shaped by the needs of the local people. These initiatives have included everything from educational programs, infrastructure building to environmental projects, all rooted in our mission to support and uplift the village that inspired our brand.



However, one request from the community has consistently resurfaced: help us attract more tourists. The residents of Longsheng see the potential tourism holds for their local economy, and they’ve asked us to play a role. But as a company that deeply cares about preserving the village’s integrity, we’ve been cautious. We don't want to unintentionally cause harm through rapid or uncontrolled tourism. Only after recent visits to Longsheng, and gaining a better understanding of how to support the village’s growth, do we feel confident about our approach to tourism.


Why Support Tourism in the First Place?

A natural question is: why focus on tourism development at all? Is this is the best use of our Beautiful Reason Initiatives (BRI) funds, which have always been community-driven.

The truth is, the local community itself has asked for this. In our yearly surveys, where we try and visit as many local homes as possible for conducting surveys, Red Yao members have made it clear that increasing tourism is key to addressing economic and social challenges. (see survey results below). 

Responsible tourism can in fact actually help preserve culture by providing income for local traditions, such as festivals, handmade crafts, and Red Yao performances. Without this support, many of these cultural practices could fade as younger generations leave for better opportunities.


We also recognize that tourism brings challenges, especially in regions that already see a large number of visitors like Longsheng. But if tourism is the reality, who are we to judge it? If we can’t change the system, our goal is to improve it. Rather than avoiding tourism’s impact, we aim to shape it in a way that benefits local families, promotes eco-friendly travel, and ensures wealth is distributed equitably and more. The improvements we’re planning on making—eg. enhanced hiking trails, upgrading local guesthouses, promoting eco-friendly amenities, capacity building for locals and more—will hopefully have a positive effect on the area.

For reading the entire 2023 village survey results, please check Viori's 2023 social impact report here

Tourism in Longsheng: How Big is It Already?

As mentioned above, tourism in Longsheng is far from new. On busy days during the peak season, the region can see an influx of thousands of visitors a day. 

Despite this large influx, the benefits of tourism haven’t reached everyone though.  Many families, especially in surrounding areas, still struggle to gain from this flow of visitors. This is another opportunity where Viori might be able to help: by helping to build better infrastructures in less visited places, train locals who want to work in this sector and more, we can ensure tourism benefits more families.

A Sustainable Partnership: Using BRI Funds

We understand that using BRI funds to support tourism development might raise some questions, particularly since Viori will also benefits from offering these travel experiences to our customers. However, we’ve always believed that a sustainable partnership is one where both sides grow together. Moreover these trips will only form a small part of our business, and again, have arisen out of the need shared by the local community. Last, these improvements are designed not only for Viori’s trips but for all tourists, helping to uplift the community as a whole. 

 

 

An Exciting Step Forward

To sum things up, after years of careful consideration, we’ve decided to listen to the community’s request to help grow tourism in Longsheng—particularly for the families who haven’t seen as much benefit from it as others have. The first step is working with the community to make necessary improvements so that we can start offering these trips. Once these enhancements are complete, we’ll begin promoting these trips to Viori customers. 

Though travel isn't a core business of Viori, our commitment to providing exceptional experiences remains unchanged. Some Viori members who have embarked on this journey with us have described visiting Longsheng and the Red Yao as "life-changing" and "the most meaningful travel experience of their lives." With the locals being equally, if not more, grateful towards us for arranging these trips, it only makes sense for us to offer this opportunity to a wider audience.

What’s more, our social mission remains at the heart of everything we do: preserving the natural beauty and cultural heritage of the Red Yao women for generations to come.