The event was organized by Ninh Binh province in coordination with Tien Phong Newspaper.
Taking culture as the core of tourism
100km from Hanoi, Ninh Binh is a destination connecting the capital chosen by many tourists. Ninh Binh owns many famous landscapes such as: Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, Trang An, Bai Dinh Pagoda, Phat Diem Stone Church, Cuc Phuong National Park... Currently, the province has 81 national monuments. In particular, Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is the only dual heritage in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, recognized by UNESCO as a typical model of economic development associated with heritage conservation.
Vice Chairman of Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Cao Son said that with the advantage of available resources, Ninh Binh has strongly entered the "Smokeless Industry" industry. "Developing cultural industry is one of the sustainable economic development strategies, for the province to realize the goal of developing the economy - society in a green, sustainable and harmonious direction", Mr. Nguyen Cao Son said.
Assessing the potential for cultural industry development in Ninh Binh, Tien Phong Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Phung Cong Suong acknowledged that Ninh Binh has traditional craft villages such as Van Lam embroidery, Ninh Van stone carving; heritage of Cheo singing, Ca Tru art; and folk legends associated with King Dinh - King Le that can become unique stage scripts. Even Hollywood movies like Kong were filmed here, which are the basis for creating tours following the film set.
According to the Department of Tourism of Ninh Binh province, over the past decades, the province has effectively exploited the potential of its unique cultural heritage and beautiful natural landscapes to develop tourism, considering tourism as a key economic sector. Director of the Department of Tourism of Ninh Binh province Bui Van Manh said: In 2021, the province issued Resolution No. 07-NQ/TU on tourism development in Ninh Binh province for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045. It clearly defines: comprehensive development of tourism types, products and services based on cultural and natural resources. Up to now, Ninh Binh tourism has entered the top 10 attractive destinations in Vietnam, becoming a prominent tourist destination on the national and international map.
Become a cultural tourism destination
Ninh Binh is considered the pearl of Vietnamese tourism, but Ninh Binh tourism has not yet developed commensurate with its resources. This is what many delegates identified at the conference. Director of Ninh Binh Provincial Department of Tourism Bui Van Manh informed: The number of tourists to Ninh Binh has increased steadily over the years, entering the top 10 localities with the largest number of visitors in 2025 (welcoming 8.7 million visitors, including 1.5 million international visitors, an increase of 30% compared to 2023). However, Mr. Bui Van Manh also pointed out the fact that tourism revenue is still low, not commensurate with its potential.
In order for Ninh Binh tourism to take off and make the most of cultural resources, many solutions were proposed at the workshop. Mr. Jonathan Baker, Chief Representative of UNESCO in Vietnam, said that culture is not a supporting factor, but a core driving force for tourism development. Investment in culture must go hand in hand with cultural preservation. In addition, he also proposed that Ninh Binh province should develop thematic cultural tourism routes; promote community-led cultural tourism cooperative models; establish heritage "incubators" to support community startups, etc.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Director of the Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism, to become a cultural tourism center, Ninh Binh needs to build a cultural industry map integrated with tourist destinations. In the immediate future, Ninh Binh province needs to review the overall situation and potential to determine the level of overlap or connectivity between tourist destinations and clusters and complexes of creative cultural spaces.
From the perspective of state management, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Phan Tam said that in order for the cultural industry to become a lever for tourism to take off, localities in general and Ninh Binh in particular need to create favorable policies to attract the private economy, while focusing on digital transformation, digitizing heritage, and developing virtual museums. In addition, digital transformation in culture is inevitable, so that the value of heritage goes beyond the local scope. "Ninh Binh tourism industry does not only focus on measuring the number of visitors and revenue, but also needs to build a set of indicators to measure the development of cultural tourism, visitor experience, and efficiency of resource exploitation...", Mr. Phan Tam suggested.
At the workshop, travel agencies and tourism experts proposed many solutions to help Ninh Binh province build its own brand and develop tourism based on cultural industry resources. From there, increase the effectiveness of tourism route connections between Ninh Binh and other localities, including the capital Hanoi.
Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/20/172583/don-bay-de-du-lich-ninh-binh-cat-canh
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