Gia Lai awakens local culture to develop community tourism.

Besides possessing the unique natural landscapes of the Central Highlands, Gia Lai also preserves a rich cultural heritage of its indigenous ethnic groups. Promoting traditional cultural values ​​through community-based tourism is opening up a new direction, contributing to heritage preservation while creating sustainable livelihoods for local people.

Folk cultural performances contribute to promoting the cultural identity of Gia Lai's ethnic groups to tourists.

Leveraging culture to develop tourism.

With the growing interest in experiential tourism, Gia Lai's unique cultural values ​​are becoming a distinct advantage. From the resounding gongs echoing through the mountains, traditional communal houses, folk festivals, to brocade weaving, basketry, and folk sculpture, all are creating a unique appeal for this region.

This was clearly demonstrated at the first Gia Lai Province Ethnic Culture Festival, held at the end of April. Thousands of locals and tourists immersed themselves in a vibrant cultural atmosphere with the participation of over 1,000 artisans and amateur performers from various localities in the province.

Experiencing local culture is becoming an attractive tourism product in many localities of Gia Lai.

At the festival, many traditional rituals were revived, such as the new rice harvest ceremony, the water offering ceremony, and the communal house celebration; along with performances of gong music, folk songs, folk dances, and traditional musical instruments. The cultural space was further expanded through handicraft demonstrations, introductions to ethnic cuisine , and reenactments of the daily life of the local people.

According to Hrê artisan Đinh Xuân Hải, the gathering of ethnic communities to showcase their unique local cultural characteristics not only creates opportunities for exchange and learning but also contributes to fostering pride in their ethnic identity.

"This is an opportunity for localities to showcase their unique cultural characteristics, and at the same time help the younger generation better understand and appreciate the values ​​left behind by their ancestors," shared Hrê artisan Đinh Xuân Hải.

The traditional cultural values ​​of the ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands are preserved and promoted through community-based tourism activities.

While elderly artisans are concerned with preserving and passing on their heritage, many young people in the villages are striving to bring traditional culture closer to the community and tourists.

Ms. Kpă H'Nhung, a member of the artisan team from Chuet village (An Phu ward), said that participating in the Gia Lai Province Ethnic Culture Festival is not only an opportunity for exchange and learning but also helps the younger generation understand more deeply the traditional cultural values ​​of the ethnic groups in the province.

According to Ms. H'Nhung, many young people in Chuet village are actively participating in cultural preservation by maintaining the activities of the Plei Chuet Gong Ensemble, regularly performing gong music, Xoang dance, folk songs, and traditional musical instruments at cultural events inside and outside the province. In addition, members also utilize social media to promote the image of Jrai village and introduce its distinctive cultural values ​​to a wider audience.

Ms. Kpă H'Nhung interacted with young Chăm Hroi ethnic people at the Gia Lai Province Ethnic Culture Festival, contributing to spreading love and pride in traditional cultural identity.

Besides creating spaces for cultural exchange, such activities also contribute to promoting the image of Gia Lai to domestic and international tourists. Through hands-on experiences, many tourists have the opportunity to get closer to the cultural life of the community, thereby increasing the attractiveness of local tourism products.

Creating livelihoods from local values

In order to effectively exploit the tourism potential associated with local culture, Gia Lai province has recently implemented many community tourism models in localities with strengths in culture and natural landscapes.

Several community-based tourism destinations are being developed, including K3 village in Vinh Son district, offering eco-tourism experiences linked to forests, streams, and waterfalls; Kep village (Ia Ly commune), Mo Hra - Dap village (To Tung commune), Plei Op village (Pleiku ward), Ia Nueng village (Bien Ho commune)... with products showcasing traditional culture, local cuisine, and community life.

According to Do Thi Dieu Hanh, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province, developing community tourism and experiential tourism is one of the key orientations, especially in the western region of the province.

Artisans demonstrate the craft of folk sculpture – a traditional art form reflecting the cultural life of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands.

Many travel agencies and tourism promotion units are paying considerable attention to the Gia Lai market. Besides ecotourism products, community-based tourism is considered a segment with significant development potential thanks to the relatively well-preserved local cultural values.

According to Dr. Chu Manh Trinh, an expert on community tourism development, the core of this type of tourism lies not in purely material products but in the process of exchanging and sharing cultural values ​​between the local community and tourists.

“Folk songs, traditional stories, indigenous knowledge, and the production experience of the people can all become tourism products. This is also an opportunity for the community to improve its livelihoods from the cultural values ​​it possesses,” Dr. Chu Manh Trinh commented.

However, for community-based tourism to develop sustainably, experts believe that the State needs to continue playing a guiding role in supporting communities to identify, preserve, and effectively utilize indigenous cultural values. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen connections between local people and educational institutions, businesses, and research organizations to expand markets and improve the capacity to organize tourism activities.

When communities truly become the actors in the development process, culture is not only a heritage to be preserved but can also become a crucial resource for economic development, job creation, and improving the quality of life for local people. This is also the direction Gia Lai can take to both preserve the cultural identity of the Central Highlands and gradually build distinctive tourism products, creating competitiveness in the regional and national tourism landscape.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/gia-lai-danh-thuc-van-hoa-ban-dia-phat-trien-du-lich-cong-dong-10419123.html