Ninh Binh Tourism: Preserving the roots for sustainable development

VTV.vn - Mr. Bui Van Manh - Director of Ninh Binh Department of Tourism - shared about the province's strategy in balancing tourism development and preserving heritage values.

Like a picturesque landscape painting, Ninh Binh appears in the middle of Northern Vietnam with the harmonious beauty of mountains, caves and winding rivers. Trang An, Tam Coc - Bich Dong, Cuc Phuong, Bai Dinh... are not only famous landscapes but also witnesses of history, culture and the soul of the Vietnamese people. Recently, Ninh Binh tourism has continuously shone on the international tourism map when many famous landscapes were honored on prestigious global tourism platforms. VTV Times reporter had a conversation with Mr. Bui Van Manh - Director of Ninh Binh Department of Tourism about the province's strategy in balancing tourism development and preserving heritage values.

Trang An Heritage Festival 2024

PV: In your opinion, what stage is Heritage tourism in Ninh Binh currently in: exploitation, breakthrough or needing adjustment for more sustainable development?

Mr. Bui Van Manh: The rapid development of Ninh Binh tourism in recent times is a proud achievement, but at the same time it also requires continued comprehensive recognition and assessment to have specific policies and steps to ensure harmonious and sustainable development between heritage conservation, exploitation and sustainable tourism development associated with community livelihoods, creating common development for the Southern Red River Delta.

After more than 10 years since Trang An officially became the first mixed World Heritage Site in Vietnam and the only one in Southeast Asia, how do you evaluate the role of this heritage in shaping the province's tourism brand?

Since being recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 2014, Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex has not only become a symbol of Vietnam on the global Heritage map, but also plays a fundamental, core and driving role in shaping and elevating the Ninh Binh tourism brand.

After more than 10 years, Trang An has affirmed its position as the heart of Ninh Binh tourism, a place where historical, cultural, landscape and spiritual values ​​converge, creating the image of a green - safe - friendly - sustainable Ninh Binh.

Not only is Trang An a symbol of Vietnam on the world tourism map, it also shapes the province's development philosophy: "Taking heritage as the center, culture as the foundation, and people as the subject".

We develop tourism that both attracts visitors and preserves, spreads and creates new values, based on the "Government - Community - Enterprise" cooperation model, which is considered a global model of harmonious development between conservation and livelihood.

Caves in Trang An

Recently, what strategies has the province had to balance tourism development and heritage conservation, especially when the number of international visitors to Ninh Binh is increasing?

Faced with the increasing trend of international visitors, key solution groups have been and are being deployed, including:

- Strengthen sustainable tourism management, perfect conservation planning: Apply digital technology in management, online ticket booking, limit the number of visitors/day in sensitive areas, monitor with cameras and digital maps.

- Protecting the environment and Heritage landscape: Ninh Binh minimizes the construction of large-scale works in the buffer zone, encourages the use of environmentally friendly materials and architecture in harmony with the landscape.

- Develop new tourism products, reduce pressure on Trang An such as expanding eco-tourism, community tourism, and agricultural experiences in neighboring areas such as Van Long, Cuc Phuong, Tam Coc - Bich Dong, creating a diverse and attractive network of destinations; encourage the development of indigenous cultural tourism, traditional festivals, craft villages, and folk cuisine, helping to extend the length of stay, increase targets, and spread cultural values ​​throughout the region.

- Raise awareness of the community and tourists, regularly organize communication programs on "Responsible Tourism", open training courses for people, businesses and tour guides on behavioral skills, outstanding global values ​​of Trang An Heritage, as well as skills in serving international guests.

- Strengthen international cooperation in conservation and tourism development to learn from experience in heritage management combined with sustainable tourism.

With these orientations, Ninh Binh will create a harmonious balance between development and conservation, both effectively exploiting tourism potential and preserving the outstanding global value of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex.

Welcome to Ninh Binh - where heritage breathes, nature embraces, and people inspire. Come not only to see, but to feel, to connect, and to become part of the living heritage of Vietnam.

Can you share the actual effectiveness of the eco-tourism and community tourism models in the buffer zones of Trang An and Tam Coc - Bich Dong?

After a period of implementation, these models have brought about clear economic, social and environmental effects. In the buffer zone and surrounding areas of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, there are more than 200 homestays, farmstays and community tourism spots operating effectively. Along with economic efficiency, this model also creates a spread of tourism behavior culture, helping the image of Ninh Binh become increasingly friendly and hospitable in the eyes of international tourists.

In the coming time, Ninh Binh Tourism industry will focus on implementing a number of strategic orientations to perfect and enhance the eco-tourism model - community tourism in the buffer zone of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, towards sustainable development and international integration.

Foreign tourists experience catching crabs in Ninh Binh

What role do local people play in preserving Heritage – are they participants, beneficiaries, or “custodians” of cultural values?

Each person participating in community tourism is both a tour guide, a cultural ambassador and a “heritage guardian”. They not only participate in and benefit from tourism, but also directly contribute to protecting and passing on precious cultural and natural values.

In fact, the success of Ninh Binh tourism today comes from the consensus and awareness of the community. More than 10,000 local workers are directly involved in serving tourist areas and destinations such as Trang An, Tam Coc - Bich Dong, Bai Dinh, Thung Nham...; thousands of households have switched from farming to eco-tourism, boating, homestay, and culinary services, creating a stable livelihood and being a pioneer in preserving the landscape, environment, and thousand-year-old cultural identity.

What is special about Trang An is that the people are the “local heritage managers”, the “unpaid tour guides, heritage storytellers” with friendly smiles and hospitality. It is the active participation of the community that has helped the heritage to be protected naturally, lively and close, not a “silent museum”.

That love, self-awareness and attachment have created sustainable vitality for Trang An - Ninh Binh, where heritage is protected by legal regulations and the heart of the community.

Now, after merging with Ha Nam and Nam Dinh, with rich and unique heritage tourism resources, what adjustments does Ninh Binh province have in its tourism development plan and what outstanding activities are expected to spread heritage values?

I affirm that this merger not only expands the administrative boundaries, but also opens up a new development space, where cultural, natural and heritage values ​​are linked into a sustainable tourism - heritage economy ecosystem. This is an important foundation for the province to adjust its tourism development strategy towards regional linkage, sustainable development and position Ninh Binh as the center and nucleus of Vietnam Heritage tourism, while realizing the goal by 2030: Building Ninh Binh into a centrally-governed city - Heritage City, an international tourism center of Vietnam and the region.

Tam Chuc Pagoda

In the context of tourism competition between localities, what direction does Ninh Binh take to create its own mark and avoid being exploited like many other destinations?

Ninh Binh has chosen its own path: sustainable, with its own identity and cultural depth. We clearly define that the difference of Ninh Binh does not lie in the scale or number of tourists, but in the “quality of experience and the value of heritage preserved intact”.

The special feature of Ninh Binh is developing tourism on the basis of heritage - culture - nature, with the philosophy of "preservation to develop, development to preserve". This is the consistent orientation in all policies of management, investment and exploitation of tourism of the province. Ninh Binh province does not trade landscape, environment and identity for short-term growth, but persistently moves towards green tourism, eco-tourism, community tourism and heritage economy.

If you could send a short message to tourists coming to Ninh Binh, what would you say?

Ninh Binh is not just a place to go - but a place to feel, to live slowly and to listen to the story of heritage. Come to Ninh Binh with the mindset of a nature lover, a culture appreciator - so that every step of today's visitors becomes a mark of preserving and spreading heritage for the future.

Thank you very much!

Source: https://vtv.vn/du-lich-ninh-binh-gin-giu-coi-nguon-de-phat-trien-ben-vung-100251105152040143.htm