Positioning Thai Nguyen culinary tourism after the merger

After the administrative boundary merger, Thai Nguyen province was expanded not only in area but also integrated many attractive natural, cultural and culinary resources, bringing great opportunities for tourism development.

To find directions for exploiting and developing Thai Nguyen tourism, on the morning of September 16, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province coordinated with the Thai Nguyen Tourism Association and the Hanoi UNESCO Travel Club to organize a seminar on Building and developing Thai Nguyen culinary tours in 2025.

Seminar on Building and developing culinary tours in Thai Nguyen in 2025. Photo: Hoang Lan

Opportunities and challenges

According to the Department of Culture and Sports, after the merger , Thai Nguyen province has a favorable geographical location, convenient transportation, advantages in natural resources, rich cultural and human resources with over 700 historical and cultural relics, scenic spots, including 1 intangible cultural heritage.

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province, Nguyen Chu Thu, said that Thai Nguyen province has entered a new era of development, the local tourism industry is facing new opportunities and fortunes when possessing more diverse tourism resources, with values ​​that resonate and complement each other between Thai Nguyen and the old Bac Kan. "Thai Nguyen after the merger has a large number of ethnic minorities living together, expanding the great potential of culinary culture, contributing to the richness of Thai Nguyen tourism," said Mr. Nguyen Chu Thu.

Tourists enjoy cuisine and traditional cakes at Thai Hai Community Cultural Tourism Village. Photo: Hoang Lan

Assessing the potential of Thai Nguyen culinary tourism, Chairman of Thai Nguyen Tourism Association Do Trong Hiep also said that each ethnic group in Thai Nguyen has its own culinary identity, suggesting Thai Nguyen to form culinary tours. "Currently, Thai Nguyen has organized a record event of 150 dishes from tea. In the coming time, Thai Nguyen will announce records of typical dishes, thereby creating attractive tourism products for tourists," Mr. Do Trong Hiep shared.

Along with assessing the opportunities and potential for developing Thai Nguyen tourism tours, delegates and travel agencies also identified the challenges in building Thai Nguyen culinary tourism products. Vice President of the UNESCO Travel Club Nguyen Tuan Anh said that after the merger, many potentials and opportunities for Thai Nguyen culinary tourism have been opened up, so the locality needs to have a clear orientation on the products. If the orientation for culinary development is to be developed, Thai Nguyen must create typical culinary products associated with experiential tours for tourists.

Tourists experience making cakes. Photo: Hoang Lan

Regarding this issue, Director of VietSense Travel Company Nguyen Van Tai also assessed that Thai Nguyen after the merger has many resources for eco-tourism and natural tourism, but culinary tourism is still not a strong point. The reason is that the positioning of cuisine with typical dishes of Thai Nguyen is not clear, so if building a culinary tour, Thai Nguyen province will have to take a detour and need more time to reposition the local brand strength.

Need to expand culinary space

At the conference, travel agencies said that the implementation and development of culinary tours in Thai Nguyen will still require a lot of time and careful preparation.

According to Vice President of the Community Tourism Association, Director of Travelogy Company Vu ​​Van Tuyen, cuisine is not just food but also cultural stories associated with the community. Therefore, to develop culinary tours, destinations need to have culinary stories and experiences, such as the "from farm to table" model. Tourists not only enjoy food but also participate in culinary activities such as catching rock snails, picking fern - a typical vegetable of Thai Nguyen as well as in the northern mountainous provinces.

Special dishes of Thai Nguyen. Photo: Hoang Lan

Suggesting solutions for developing Thai Nguyen culinary tours, Director of FiveStar Travel Company Luong Duy Doanh suggested that each destination in Thai Nguyen needs to clearly identify typical dishes, for example, in the old Thai Nguyen area, it is possible to create a culinary space at the Thai Hai Community Cultural Tourism Village, and develop culinary dishes associated with tea products. In the Ba Be Lake area, there should be special dishes made from freshwater fish. According to Director of FTour Travel Company Ngo Quoc Vinh, Thai Nguyen should develop a culinary menu based on available resources and organize culinary festivals to promote local dishes, creating an effect for promotional activities and attracting tourists.

Contributing to the orientation of Thai Nguyen tourism to exploit all potentials after the merger, Director of VietSense Travel Company Nguyen Van Tai said that with the existing resources and resources, Thai Nguyen should focus on developing core products such as eco-tourism, community tourism, cultural tourism... associated with local cuisine. Destinations should create spaces for culinary experiences to enrich the tour itinerary of tourists.

Stream fish dish is enjoyed by many tourists when experiencing Ba Be tourism in Thai Nguyen. Photo: Hoang Lan.

Thai Nguyen tourism is making a breakthrough, opening up many opportunities for sustainable development, becoming an attractive destination in the North. In order for cuisine to become a factor increasing the attractiveness of tours, Thai Nguyen needs to have a systematic strategy in both investment and product development, and at the same time needs to have closer links with travel agencies and media to create momentum for Thai Nguyen tourism.

New Hanoi Newspaper

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/dinh-vi-du-lich-am-thuc-thai-nguyen-sau-sap-nhap-20250917111233292.htm