Existing "bottlenecks"
In the process of integrating cultural heritage into tourism development, localities still face many difficulties and obstacles that need to be overcome. One of these difficulties is the lack of synchronized and fragmented tourism infrastructure.
In Hung Yen , most historical sites are interspersed within residential areas, limiting access, lacking parking, and lacking supporting services. Many tours require day trips, resulting in short stays and low tourist spending. Tourism products along specific routes and regions remain fragmented, lacking connectivity between Pho Hien - Keo Pagoda - traditional craft villages or historical sites along the Red River and Luoc River.
Some heritage tour routes in Hung Yen still focus heavily on religious ceremonies, lacking experiential activities, historical reenactments, or cultural performances. River tours, a historical strength of Pho Hien, have also not been effectively exploited. Despite great potential, tourism products along the Red River, Luoc River, and Bac Hung Hai remain in their nascent stages.
Sharing her views on this issue, Bui Thi Luong, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hung Yen province, frankly stated: Hung Yen has more than 3,700 historical sites, but many are small in scale and located deep within residential areas, making tour organization difficult. The supporting infrastructure is not commensurate with the heritage potential, which is one of the biggest bottlenecks currently…
Furthermore, heritage preservation efforts face numerous challenges. Many historical sites are at risk of degradation, land encroachment, or excessive modernization that diminishes their original value. Many structures are old and worn down by time. According to statistics, in the four years from 2021 to 2025, Hung Yen restored more than 210 historical sites, indicating a significant level of degradation within the heritage system.
Hai Phong faces similar challenges. Despite its unique urban architectural heritage, many structures have not received adequate investment and have not yet formed a sufficiently strong product chain. Some old French villas and religious sites are deteriorating; the connection between heritage sites and tourism services is incomplete. In Hai Phong, night tours, walking tours, and urban heritage experiences, although implemented, have not yet created a distinct identity compared to other major cities. Digital transformation at many historical sites is still limited; there is a shortage of tour guides, and information about the sites is not attractive enough.
Representatives from the Hai Phong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism also acknowledged that Hai Phong has many valuable structures such as Nghè Temple, Hàng Kênh communal house, and the city museum, but lacks distinctive tourism products to fully exploit them. The connection of heritage sites into a chain and investment in infrastructure to welcome tourists is still not synchronized.
Many cultural and tourism experts also believe that spiritual and heritage tourism products in Hai Phong currently lack a strong enough link between historical sites, services, and media. The lack of coordinated efforts between state management, businesses, and the community means that many valuable aspects have not been exploited to their full potential…
Furthermore, heritage preservation in Hai Phong faces challenges, with hundreds of old French villas requiring urgent conservation. Some architectural structures over 100 years old need specific legal mechanisms for protection. In addition, there are difficulties regarding tourism human resources, especially a shortage of knowledgeable tour guides and interpreters, resulting in vague and unengaging storytelling about heritage. Tourism communication and promotion activities are fragmented, lacking a joint campaign between the two localities despite possessing many potential inter-regional tourism routes...
Heritage promotes sustainable tourism development.
Despite facing numerous challenges, the two localities have implemented a series of major policies, programs, and projects aimed at preserving heritage and promoting sustainable tourism.
According to Bui Thi Luong, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hung Yen province, the province is currently aiming to develop more new tourism products to increase the attractiveness of tourism in the North, with cultural and spiritual tourism remaining the core product. At the same time, the province is promoting craft village tourism, beach tourism, resort and eco-tourism, community tourism and river tourism…
Many prominent destinations contribute to positioning the province's tourism brand, such as the Pho Hien National Special Historical Site, Con Den Tourist Area, Dau An Temple, Da Hoa - Da Trach Temple, Tong Tran Temple, Phu Ung Temple, and Keo Pagoda - a wooden pagoda with unique architecture... Particularly in recent years, Hung Yen has strongly implemented the "Heritage Route - One Journey, Many Destinations" model, connecting key historical sites of Pho Hien - Da Hoa - Da Trach - Keo Pagoda - and traditional craft villages, expanding links with Hanoi and Hai Phong to create an attractive and diverse product chain, meeting the increasingly high demands of tourists.
Besides its dense network of historical sites, Hung Yen also boasts many valuable traditional craft villages, including Nam Cao silk weaving village with a tradition of over 200 years associated with mulberry cultivation and silkworm farming. In addition, with its 54km long coastline, the province is developing many coastal resort destinations such as Con Vanh and Con Den to enhance the tourist experience.
Hung Yen province has implemented numerous plans and projects aimed at both preserving heritage and promoting tourism. Accordingly, in 2023, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 2718/QD-UBND approving the project to restore and renovate the Pho Hien National Special Monument Complex with a total capital of 120 billion VND, to be implemented in the period 2023-2025. The project restores 16 relics such as Tran Temple, Mau Temple, Van Mieu - Xich Dang, May Temple, Hien communal house and pagoda, etc., to prevent degradation and preserve the unique value of the relic complex. Currently, Pho Hien ward is coordinating with relevant departments to implement the project to build and restore ancient Pho Hien, creating a foundation for the future development of cultural and commercial tourism. In addition, Hung Yen province is also effectively implementing the project to restore and prevent degradation of relics in the period 2021-2025 with a budget of 73 billion VND, supporting 107 relics. From 2021 to March 2025, the entire province invested 1,158 billion VND to restore 210 historical sites.
According to Bui Thi Luong, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hung Yen province, to maximize the value of its cultural heritage, in addition to conservation efforts, Hung Yen is striving to develop new tourism products based on existing heritage sites and traditional craft villages. At the same time, many tourist destinations have applied digital technologies such as AR, VR, or experiential applications, creating new cultural spaces and increasing interaction. Ms. Bui Thi Luong believes that with a well-planned investment strategy and community participation, Hung Yen will transform its heritage into a soft power, contributing to shaping its identity and developing sustainable tourism.
The city of Hai Phong has also identified tourism as a key economic sector and is determined to realize the goal of making tourism a strong brand with distinctive cultural tourism products. According to Hai Phong's tourism development orientation, clearly stated in the "Overall Tourism Development Plan for the City until 2025, with a vision to 2030," urban tourism and night-time economy are the main products. The city aims to preserve and restore valuable historical and architectural works, while also forming heritage connecting routes such as: the Museum - Nghè Temple - Grand Theater - Tam Bạc Lake route, the Hàng Kênh communal house - Dư Hàng pagoda - old town route, or the expanded route to Kiến An and Thủy Nguyên. Notably, in 2024, implementing the plan to communicate the outstanding global values of the Cat Ba Archipelago World Natural Heritage Site, the city will for the first time promote the Cat Ba heritage on CNN television channel, achieving positive results.
Besides urban tourism and night-time economy, the Hai Phong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has recently assigned the Con Son - Kiet Bac Relic Management Board to develop experiential tourism products such as "One Journey - 5 World Heritage Destinations"; the "Following in the Footsteps of the Three Patriarchs of Truc Lam" experiential tour; and the "Exploring the Con Son - Kiet Bac World Heritage Site" tour. In addition, research is being conducted on developing tourism routes based on exploiting local cultural heritage values, such as thematic tourism routes: Famous Vietnamese Figures, Famous Figures of the Tran Dynasty, the Truc Lam Zen sect, the Vietnamese scholarly path, and traditional craft villages; and tourism routes exploring historical, cultural, revolutionary, and spiritual relics. The city is also paying attention to exploiting and promoting the unique values of typical and distinctive traditional festivals.
Besides preserving and promoting heritage values in conjunction with tourism development, Hai Phong's culture and tourism sector also collaborates with tourism organizations and businesses to find solutions to overcome bottlenecks in tourism development linkages with neighboring provinces. This is achieved through signed cooperation agreements to connect and exploit tourism products at historical sites and landmarks, aiming to promote and develop tourism products, strengthen human resources, improve and exploit tourism products, contribute to enhancing the value of heritage, and share experiences in attracting tourists, especially international tourists, to develop sustainable tourism that benefits businesses and the community.
Experts believe that, overall, Hung Yen's heritage is linked to the Red River civilization – an ancient trading port, long-standing communities, and a system of temples, pagodas, and traditional craft villages. Meanwhile, Hai Phong's heritage reflects a port city, French architecture, modern history combined with folk maritime beliefs. This difference creates ideal conditions for the two localities to collaborate and develop tourism routes such as: the Hanoi - Hung Yen - Hai Phong route along the Red River; the Pho Hien - Xich Dang - Hai Phong Museum - Nghe Temple - Hang Kenh heritage route; and the spiritual tourism route of Keo Pagoda - Mau Temple - Dau Island - Bach Dang Giang… It is believed that, with strategic steps and an approach based on identity and heritage tourism, the two localities are gradually affirming their important position in socio-economic development, contributing to shaping the image of a dynamic region rich in tradition and enduring over time.
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/du-lich/du-lich-di-san-van-hoa-nen-tang-cho-tuong-lai-ben-vung-20251213134730772.htm
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