Creative tourism: A trend that helps elevate experiences and create destination identity

Creative tourism has become a driving force for innovation, a direction that helps destinations create their own identity, helping local people become creative subjects for sustainable economic, cultural and environmental development.

“Creative tourism is the future of Vietnam tourism, and this is an opportunity for us to affirm our identity, enhance our experiences, and create sustainable economic and social values. I believe that with the spirit of innovation, creativity and cooperation, Vietnam will become a leading destination for creative tourism, where each experience is a unique and memorable story.”

Director of the National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh affirmed this at the International Scientific Conference "Creative Tourism - Sustainable Destination Development" which took place this morning, November 12, in Hanoi .

At the forum, managers, experts, researchers, businesses and the community had the opportunity to share experiences, perspectives and practical models on developing creative tourism associated with sustainable development goals...

Trends help destinations create their own identity

Industry leaders say global tourism is now recovering strongly from the pandemic, and traveler behavior and expectations have changed significantly. Today, travelers not only want to travel to see and see, but also want to travel to experience, to create and to connect.

They seek new journeys where they can learn, create value by themselves, create cultural and culinary products from cooking with local people or making pottery, weaving silk to participating in nature conservation and heritage activities... so that each journey becomes a meaningful and memorable personalized experience.

Visitors experience making lacquer works at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnam+)

That is also the spirit of “Creative Tourism” - a type of tourism that considers human experiences and interactions as the center, while encouraging the participation of local communities.

In particular, the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030 also emphasizes the goal of sustainable development, linking economic growth, heritage conservation, culture and environment, contributing to improving community life.

“This requires scientific forums where experts, managers, businesses and the community can exchange and propose feasible solutions to promote creative tourism development, contributing to building a Vietnamese destination brand that is rich in identity, attractive and sustainable,” Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism (VICAST), affirmed.

At the workshop, experts shared the view that developing creative tourism not only helps improve the quality of tourists' experiences but also promotes sustainable development of local communities, creates job opportunities, preserves traditional culture, and increases the attractiveness of destinations on the world tourism map.

In order for this trend to contribute to the sustainable development of the local tourism economy, Director Nguyen Trung Khanh proposed encouraging creativity in designing tourism products and services on digital technology platforms; combining indigenous culture, art, digital technology and interactive experiences to create unique tourism products that leave a deep impression on visitors.

International tourists enjoy experiencing the cuisine and traditional craft villages in Vietnam. (Photo source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism)

According to him, it is necessary to support businesses and creative tourism by providing favorable policy mechanisms, creating an environment for testing and developing new products; promoting public-private cooperation, including strengthening the connection between the State, businesses and local communities, ensuring sustainable development and harmonizing interests.

In particular, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation in developing creative tourism, sharing experiences and technology in developing creative products, managing destinations, training human resources, and applying digital technology in tourism experiences.

“Create tourism products that combine cultural values, develop creative tour products that combine the beauty of Vietnamese culture and other countries, from art, cuisine, traditional craft villages to interactive experiences, education and entertainment; promote the international tourism market. Build a digital platform to apply virtual reality experiences, digital marketing to promote creative products to the international market” Director Nguyen Trung Khanh emphasized.

Innovative testing models

Master Hoang Dao Bao Cam, representative of the Tourism Research Department (Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism) said that creative tourism is an evolutionary step of cultural tourism and community tourism.

“While traditional community-based tourism emphasizes sustainability and locality, creative tourism shifts its focus to active participation, skill sharing and mutual learning between tourists and local communities. This is consistent with today’s tourist demand for self-improvement as well as authenticity and uniqueness of travel experiences,” said Mr. Bao Cam.

Art space of artist Nguyen Tan Phat in Duong Lam. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnam+)

With creative tourism, tourists do not only passively observe and enjoy the scenery and culture, but they actively participate in creating new products with local people such as: painting, sculpture, pottery making, folk dance, cooking, etc.

According to Mr. Hoang Dao Bao Cam, creative tourism has really taken its first steps in Vietnam, with experiments in Duong Lam, Bat Trang, Hoi An... as well as in many other destinations.

Previously, when coming to Mong Phu village in the Duong Lam ancient village complex (Son Tay, Hanoi), tourists often visited the ancient village landscape, architectural works in the village such as the village gate, pagoda, communal house, church, some ancient houses, had lunch and then returned. Now they have many factors to "hold" visitors.

“Duong Lam’s tourism activities have expanded with creative tourism products, such as Phat Studio of artisan Nguyen Tan Phat, which helps visitors experience lacquer art through the creation of objects and animals from straw and rice husks, materials closely associated with Vietnam’s rice civilization. In the future, products will continue to be more ‘creative’ with new materials from laterite, a traditional building material, typical of Duong Lam, Son Tay,” said Mr. Bao Cam.

In Duong Lam, there is also a creative tourism experience space "Doai creative" with interesting activities such as molding, drawing on wood, or making lanterns... These products and many activities participating in agricultural production such as farming... have truly become interesting experiences for visitors when coming to Duong Lam.

Tourists immerse themselves in the lives of local people and enjoy the cuisine of the Northwest mountainous region. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnam+)

Thanks to the harmonious combination of ancient villages with traditional rural landscapes, architectural heritage with community tourism experiences, Duong Lam has brought a unique creative tourism product, contributing to forming an attractive cultural tourism destination of Hanoi as well as the whole country.

Meanwhile, Japan is a typical country of creative tourism and unique cultural experiences, where technology, cuisine, art and cultural heritage combine to create attractive, rich and unique products.

Echizen City is a rare region in Japan where five different traditional crafts coexist and are the main source of livelihood for the people. “About 10 years ago, people focused on making crafts, completely separate from tourism. But in the past 10 years, initiatives to revive the industry through tourism development have increased rapidly,” said Nishino Yoshiuki from the Echizen Tourism Association.

Echizen focuses on diversifying products and services based on the value of “handicraft,” which helps to enhance the area’s appeal as a unique tourist destination. Mr. Nishino Yoshiuki said that the Echizen Washi paper business, a traditional handicraft associated with promoting tourism, was chosen to develop in a way that both minimizes the burden on recipients and effectively benefits the traditional profession.

Tourists experience traditional handicrafts in Hoi An. (Photo: Contributor/Vietnam+)

Accordingly, the two target groups are professional guests and high-end tourists. In order to serve high-end tourists, initiatives include building content with unified themes, training tour guides to ensure accurate understanding of history and culture...

“Tourists interested in and learning about traditional crafts are gradually coming to Echizen City not only in increasing numbers of tours but also in purchasing products. Through initiatives targeting professionals and high-end tourists, community welfare has been enhanced, cultural preservation has been maintained and many jobs have been created for local people,” said Nishino Yoshiuki.

From the evidence in Vietnam and Japan, it can be seen that creative tourism is not only a trend but has become a driving force for innovation in the tourism industry, a direction that helps destinations create their own identity, helps local people become creative subjects and thereby sustainably develop the economy, culture and environment./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/du-lich-sang-tao-xu-huong-giup-nang-tam-trai-nghiem-tao-ban-sac-diem-den-post1076528.vnp