Bac Ninh: Removing "bottlenecks" for community tourism to break through

Community tourism is opening up a new direction for development in Bac Ninh province after the merger with many destinations rich in identity and experiences close to local life. Although the demand of tourists is increasing, many tourist destinations are still struggling due to lack of infrastructure, lack of capital and planning, making this type of tourism unable to break through.

Lack of infrastructure, lack of planning

In recent years, the trend of returning to nature and experiencing local culture has made community tourism the choice of many tourists. Ecological space, traditional cuisine , unique customs and the friendliness of local people have created a special attraction for community tourism that is difficult to achieve with other tourism models.

Visitors to Khe Ro community tourism site, An Lac commune

Bac Giang province (formerly) has formed a number of community tourism spots that initially attract visitors such as Ven village (Xuan Luong commune), Van Hoa Ho Va (Dong Phu commune) or Bau Tien lake (Phuong Son ward)... Each tourist spot has its own features: Ven village has tea fields, bamboo forests, sheep farms; unique culinary dishes of the Cao Lan ethnic group; Bau Tien lake stands out with its ecological agricultural tourism model (visiting farms, cycling, fishing, rowing); Van Hoa Ho Va attracts visitors with its flower fields, bamboo houses close to nature, rainbow carpet sliding games for young people... In Bac Ninh province (formerly), Quan Ho villages, traditional craft villages, riverside ecological environments are also great advantages for developing community tourism. Many tourists come to learn and experience Quan Ho culture in Diem village, Dong Ho folk painting craft and pottery craft...

Community tourism not only generates income but also contributes to preserving traditional culture, promoting agricultural production, and creating stable livelihoods for people. When invested in the right direction, it will create strong resources, helping this type of tourism enter a new stage of development.

However, the development of tourist attractions is not synchronous, the incentive mechanism is not really attractive, the planning and connection are not systematic... causing these models to be scattered and not really forming a complete product chain. After the merger of the two provinces, Bac Ninh has more than 30 tourist areas and spots; of which nearly 10 community tourism spots have been recognized, some spots are completing the conditions to be recognized. That shows that the space for community tourism models is very large, but to exploit them effectively, the difficulties that have existed for many years need to be resolved. The common point of most community tourism models in the province is that the infrastructure does not meet actual needs. Most tourism cooperatives cannot invest in building guest reception houses, internal roads, miniature landscape models, parking lots, and solid toilets because there is no detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 - a mandatory condition according to regulations to deploy construction of project items.

Mr. Hoang Van Hiep, Director of Dong Dao Tourism Cooperative - the investor of Bau Tien tourist site, confided: "Although the unit has invested in a number of items to attract visitors, but in the summer or orange and grapefruit season, when there are many visitors, the reception areas, entertainment areas, restrooms... are often overloaded; the roads to the tourist site or parking lots are still narrow. Without a detailed 1/500 scale plan, we cannot build properly. We really want to do it but are afraid that after investing, we will have to dismantle it."

At the Van Hoa Ho Va tourist site, Mr. Trinh Tien Chinh, Director of the Van Hoa Ho Va Cooperative, said: “Many groups of tourists want to experience the services, but the entertainment, dining, photography, miniature landscape, and parking areas are still lacking, so business is difficult and there are very few guests staying. We are aware that we need to upgrade the services, but we cannot because there is no detailed planning at a scale of 1/500. Meanwhile, every month, the Cooperative has to spend hundreds of millions of VND to pay salaries and wages to members and employees working here.”

In some places, cooperatives want to invest in tourist boats and electric cars to serve customers, but the high cost exceeds their financial capacity. An electric car costs hundreds of millions of dong, and tourist boats must ensure safety standards, and the cost is not small. Many travel businesses also clearly see these limitations. Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, representative of a travel company in Hanoi, shared: "We really want to bring community tourism products into tours and routes, especially on weekends. However, the infrastructure in many places is not up to standard, making it difficult to organize large groups. If there are attractive entertainment and service spots; parking lots, standard restrooms and well-organized reception areas... surely many businesses will boldly cooperate."

More "boost" needed for sustainable tourism development

It is known that in 2023, the People's Council of Bac Giang province issued Resolution No. 41/2023/NQ-HDND, dated July 14, 2023, regulating policies to support the development of community tourism in Bac Giang province for the period 2023 - 2030. However, because localities have not really taken drastic action, especially the slow preparation of detailed planning at a scale of 1/500, most tourist business units have not been able to invest in projects and construction items for tourism. On the other hand, many tourist destinations have not yet met the prescribed conditions for support or do not have enough financial resources, so they do not dare to invest. The People's Council of Bac Ninh province (old) has not yet issued a Resolution regulating the content of policies to support the development of community tourism.

Tourists experience rowing at Bau Tien tourist site, Phuong Son ward

Surveys at many tourist destinations in the province show that currently, cooperatives and households doing tourism are actively investing in experiential models, but the level is still small and spontaneous. On the other hand, to upgrade services, tourist destinations need to have plans and be supported to invest in the right direction. The delay in issuing detailed plans and having synchronous policies makes it impossible for models to expand and exploit their full potential.

Based on Resolution 41/2023 previously issued by the People's Council of Bac Giang province, Bac Ninh province has completed the Draft Resolution to support community tourism development for the period 2026 - 2030. It is expected that the Draft Resolution will be considered and approved by the Provincial People's Council in December 2025. Mr. Do Tuan Khoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the development of the Resolution aims to provide timely support and create the best conditions for investment activities in community tourism development, contributing to diversifying tourism products and improving competitiveness. At the same time, it creates a legal basis to mobilize state resources and social resources to invest in community tourism development in the province. The content of the Draft Resolution stipulates support policies (with limited quantity at each tourist destination). For example: Support for detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 for community tourism sites with a support level of 70% of the actual cost, not exceeding 2 billion VND/site, the remaining cost is covered by the commune budget; investment in building a house to welcome guests, display tourism products, agricultural products: 500 million VND/house; public toilets: 100 million VND/house; construction of internal roads: 800 million VND/km; parking lots: 100 million VND/lot; support for buying and building boats: 1.5 billion VND/boat; electric cars: 200 million VND/car.

To create motivation to promote community tourism development, in addition to support policies, the most important issue is that localities must focus on completing detailed planning at a scale of 1/500 for tourist destinations. Only then will cooperatives, organizations and individuals involved in tourism have a basis to invest in building items. On the other hand, functional sectors and relevant units of the province need to focus on training skills for people, especially in welcoming guests, explaining, protecting the environment and tourism behavior skills. Support cooperatives in building unique products, exploiting unique cultural and ecological values. In addition, applying digital transformation such as online booking, selling electronic tickets, promoting via social networks... will help expand the number of visitors and access the market more easily.

Community tourism not only generates income but also contributes to preserving traditional culture, promoting agricultural production, and creating stable livelihoods for people. When invested in the right direction, it will create strong resources to help this type of tourism enter a new stage of development - where people are both the subject of product creation and direct beneficiaries. Thereby, contributing to promoting socio-economic development in the area, especially in rural and mountainous areas.

Bac Ninh Newspaper, Radio and Television

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/bac-ninh-go-nut-that-de-du-lich-cong-dong-but-pha-20251202110033804.htm