Ha Nam - Nam Dinh - Ninh Binh: New promising tourism growth pole

Ninh Binh Tourism Association organized a survey of some cultural-spiritual tourism products and unique landscapes in Nam Dinh province. Photo: MIinh Duong

Multiply the power of connection

Ha Nam , Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh have long been known as localities with many advantages in tourism, with historical and cultural heritages, natural landscapes, traditional festivals and unique tourism products. According to statistics, the 3 provinces currently own a large number of relics with over 5,000 relics of all kinds, including 8 special national relics, 265 national relics, 784 provincial relics, dozens of national treasures and groups of national treasures.

In addition, the three localities also possess many intangible cultural heritages with hundreds of unique traditional festivals, unique traditional crafts and folk arts with 33 national intangible cultural heritages. This place has the heritage of "Practicing the worship of the Mother Goddesses of the Three Realms of the Vietnamese" recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. In particular, the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex of Ninh Binh province is recognized as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the first mixed heritage of Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

The three localities also have a colorful "flow" of spiritual culture and beliefs with hundreds of Catholic churches of various sizes and unique architectural art such as Phat Diem Stone Church, Nam Dinh Cathedral, Thinh Long Parish Church, etc. This place also possesses a diverse and rich flora and fauna system such as Cuc Phuong National Park, Xuan Thuy National Park. Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh also have the potential to develop a marine economy such as seafood exploitation, sea tourism; along with a diverse culinary background with specialties such as beef noodle soup, braised fish, royal bananas, goat meat, burnt rice, seafood, etc.

According to Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, the merger of Ha Nam, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh provinces is not only in line with the trend of the times and the inevitable development requirements of the country, but also opens up huge space, potential and opportunities for sustainable tourism development. The three provinces not only have a convenient geographical location, adjacent to the capital Hanoi with a synchronous infrastructure and transportation system, but also have a rich culture, history and unique nature.

“The four strongest points that I believe will create momentum for tourism development in the three provinces include: Rich tourism products when Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh can combine eco-tourism, spiritual tourism, sea and island tourism, agriculture and craft villages in the same journey. Second, good traffic infrastructure including national highways, expressways, and Day River waterways facilitate regional connectivity. Third, with a tradition of studiousness, the three provinces can quickly train a team of high-quality tour guides, hotel and restaurant staff, creating an abundant source of human resources for the tourism sector. Fourth, the support, consensus and determination of the Party Committees, authorities and people of the three provinces will create great strength to promote comprehensive socio-economic development,” said Mr. Ha Van Sieu.

As one of the long-standing corporations in the tourism sector, especially investing in developing high-end resort real estate projects, CEO Nguyen Cong Hoan, General Director of Flamingo Redtours, believes and has great expectations for the tourism development of the three provinces in the coming time. Mr. Hoan assessed: “Overall, it can be seen that the tourism potential of the three provinces is very rich and abundant, but there is a “lack” of large corporations in the field of high-end tourism and resorts. Therefore, when merging into one, it will create great space and attraction for domestic and even international investors to create high-class products with high connectivity and appeal.”

The General Director of Flamingo Redtours also believes that with the success of the project that the Group is implementing in Ha Nam province, it will be the driving force for the unit to continue researching and developing projects and tourism products in Ninh Binh and Nam Dinh in the coming time. Thereby creating a complex of high-class, synchronous tourism products, promoting the development of trade, services, and local tourism.

Agreeing with this view, Ms. Duong Thi Thanh, President of Ninh Binh Tourism Association, said: Merging the three provinces will help us create integrated tourism products, increase the length of stay, and increase tourist spending. Currently, businesses still face difficulties in applying for licenses and completing separate procedures in each province. When linking and having synchronous policies, operating costs for businesses will be reduced, thereby increasing tour competitiveness.

Overcome challenges, welcome new opportunities

According to experts, in the context of Vietnam's tourism industry needing new boosts after the pandemic, linking and merging tourism in Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh is an inevitable and promising direction. If we know how to make good use of our strengths and overcome challenges, this new tourism area will not only contribute to promoting the economy of the Red River Delta region, but also enhance the position of Vietnam's tourism on the international map.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism, said that the merger will expand resources to promote tourism and develop the cultural industry, but it also poses many challenges for the new administrative unit that need to be identified and resolved early. For example, the mechanism and policies are not synchronized, the unbalanced development between destinations instead of joint development, the risk of pressure on the environment and heritage conservation, or the lack of human resources, high-quality services, etc.

To address these challenges, in the coming time, the tourism industry of localities needs to re-evaluate heritage resources across the entire system in order to have a synchronous, appropriate and effective long-term and medium-term planning strategy. The second solution is to select key highlights to create new spaces and new tourism products that are both thematic and comprehensive while still preserving and promoting cultural, heritage and environmental values. In addition, it is necessary to invest in developing a synchronous transport infrastructure and tourism infrastructure system. At the same time, it is necessary to improve the capacity, management level and ability to exploit the natural, cultural and historical values of each locality to meet the needs and tastes of tourists, especially international visitors. It can be seen that, when merging, the greatest potential of the three provinces is to develop a spiritual and cultural tourism axis.

Ms. Tran Thi Thu Thuy, Head of Tourism Department, Department of Culture and Sports of Nam Dinh province, said that spiritual cultural heritage will help to better exploit the potential and strengths of the region, create stable jobs for local people, and promote other service industries to develop sustainably. In the coming time, it is possible to build closed tours such as Tam Chuc-Bai Dinh-Phu Day, Journey to the cultural roots of the Tran Dynasty, Exploring the architecture of Catholic churches... At that time, tourists will have many continuous and convenient experiences without being interrupted by administrative boundaries as before.

Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh - each region has its own beauty, but all have a deep Northern culture, along with a rich natural ecosystem, festivals, and craft villages. Connecting the three localities will create an attractive tourism picture from exploring heritage, experiencing spirituality, immersing in nature to learning about history, culture and enjoying unique cuisine in the Southern Red River Delta. We believe that when the three streams of culture, nature and people reunite, a new strength will multiply to help tourism take off and reach far.

Minh Hai

Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/ha-nam-nam-dinh-ninh-binh-cuc-tang-truong-du-lich-moi-day-807676.htm