Over a month ago, Phan Thiet Food Street officially opened its doors to serve locals and tourists. This is the first night-time food street in Binh Thuan province, and it is expected to become a highlight in Phan Thiet city's night-time economic development strategy.
To be honest, whenever I travel to a province or city, I'm always curious to ask the locals if they have a night market. Besides eating and drinking coffee in the evening, tourists want to leisurely stroll through the streets, learn about local specialties, and enjoy regional cuisine through food streets and stalls at night markets. When Phan Thiet has a Food Street, it means the city will have another unique tourism product to attract both domestic and international tourists. Even though it's just a pilot project, building a food street on weekends will be a direction for developing a night-time economy model that suits Phan Thiet's advantages and practical conditions.
This food street, located on Tuyen Quang Street, attracts nearly 100 stalls, many of which sell and introduce OCOP products from Binh Thuan, as well as stalls offering typical local dishes in a traditional rural market style (street vendors). In addition, the area also features stalls selling specialties and souvenirs from the coastal city of Phan Thiet.
Despite high expectations, after a few weeks of bustling activity coinciding with the Lunar New Year, the food street is now facing a decline in visitors. Based on personal experience and that of local residents, the activities at the food street lack distinctiveness and diversity, mainly revolving around eating and shopping, and lacking cultural and artistic events to create attractive highlights for tourists. Many food stalls primarily sell ready-made street food and fast food, which is not of high quality and lacks a unique identity. After more than a month of operation, the stalls are becoming increasingly sparse, and the operating model here is "similar" to other food markets that have failed prematurely in many other provinces and cities.
How can pilot models and night markets be sustainable, develop, and innovate to meet changing customer tastes? I've been to night markets in Da Lat, Phu Quoc, Can Tho… all are crowded and vibrant with many stalls selling local specialties and souvenirs, alongside food stalls like in other provinces and cities. So why are these destinations so successful? To attract tourists and locals alike to visit every week, perhaps the food streets should improve their space, offer a diverse and appealing menu, and especially provide "spiritual nourishment" to encourage visitors to linger longer rather than just browsing and leaving.
Enhancing the attractiveness of food streets not only increases revenue for businesses but also contributes to the development of local tourism and culinary culture. For example, in Da Lat, the night markets on weekends always feature lively outdoor music performances. Phan Thiet should also maintain similar unique music programs, combined with street art activities every weekend. Furthermore, to create a unique experience, Phan Thiet could organize "food tours," offering themed meal combos to allow visitors to fully experience the culinary essence of the area. Simultaneously, training for vendors in professional, friendly, civilized, and hospitable service is necessary. Moreover, Phan Thiet should consider organizing cooking and beverage mixing competitions, similar to those in the past, but on a smaller scale to increase entertainment and vibrancy. These activities will help the food street become a destination not only for eating but also for fun and relaxation.
At the same time, building digital communication channels on platforms like Facebook and TikTok is extremely important to spread the image and promote the area to the public, attracting the attention of tourists from within and outside the province. In addition, collaboration with personal Facebook pages specializing in introducing regional and local cuisine can be used to create authentic and engaging reviews. Furthermore, partnering with travel companies to include Phan Thiet Food Street in tour programs is also an effective way to increase visitor numbers.
With these small advantages, along with the efforts of the authorities and the cooperation of small traders and stalls in the food street, it is certain that Phan Thiet Food Street will create a unique brand compared to other provinces and cities. This will contribute to the increasingly clear development strategy of Phan Thiet's night-time economy in particular and Binh Thuan province's tourism in general.
Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/am-thuc-dem-phan-thiet-can-su-khac-biet-128295.html
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