The event does not stop at honoring flavors, but affirms the cultural identity of a land that is shaping its tourism brand from the core of indigenous culture.
From flavor to destination brand
After four editions, the Quang Ninh Culinary Festival has become an annual event with widespread influence, gathering hundreds of domestic and foreign businesses, chefs, and artisans.
This year, the scale of nearly 200 booths is divided into three areas: International, Vietnam and Quang Ninh, reflecting the diverse picture of global cuisine in an open space where cultures meet through food.
Notably, the Quang Ninh culinary area is designed as a “living museum” of sea and mountain flavors.
From Co To dried squid, Van Don sea worms to Tien Yen chicken, Binh Lieu yellow flower tea, each dish carries a story about the people and the land.
The booths are explained in multiple languages, using virtual reality technology to recreate the processing process, from catching seafood to harvesting agricultural products, creating a journey of experience that is both realistic and vivid.
The combination of technology, performance and multi-platform communication has helped Quang Ninh cuisine step out of the festival framework, becoming an experiential tourism product, where visitors can "taste" culture, "hear" stories and "touch" local values.
Cuisine - the "soft ambassador" of cultural tourism
Cuisine has long been considered the borderless language of culture. In Quang Ninh, where the natural heritage of Ha Long Bay and the spiritual heritage of coastal residents intersect, cuisine has become a “soft ambassador” bringing tourists closer to local life.
Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ninh Nguyen Lam Nguyen emphasized: "The culinary festival is not only an activity to promote tourism products, but also a bridge between culture, economy and creativity, three factors that create the vitality of Quang Ninh tourism in the new period".
Indeed, when international tourists come to Vietnam, the first impression often comes from the food. A bowl of seafood noodles in Ha Long or a cup of yellow flower tea in Binh Lieu can become a more profound memory than the landscape.
According to surveys by many international travel agencies, 70% of tourists consider culinary experiences an important factor in deciding to return to a destination, a number that is enough to show why culinary tourism is becoming a strategic trend.
Not stopping at cultural values, Quang Ninh cuisine is gradually transforming into a creative economic resource.
This year's festival marks the strong presence of international restaurant and hotel chains, and "open kitchens" introducing Vietnamese dishes in a modern style, with local ingredients.
The connection between traditional artisans and young chefs has created a new line of culinary products, combining technology and aesthetics. The Ha Long squid cake is presented in fine-dining style, or the grilled cockles are recreated in a space of light art, it is not just a dish but a performance.
It is these innovations that are turning Quang Ninh into a model destination in exploiting culinary values as a cultural industry, where cuisine does not stand alone, but is integrated into the overall development of tourism, services and local brand communication.
From festivals to sustainable development strategies
In the context of Quang Ninh province aiming to welcome 20 million visitors by 2025, including 4.5 million international visitors, developing culinary tourism is considered a strategic direction.
Each dish not only reflects identity but also has the ability to create an “extended value chain”, from clean agricultural production, OCOP brands, to “farm-to-table” experience tours.
Quang Ninh Cuisine Festival is therefore not simply an event, but a concrete step in the strategy of developing tourism associated with cultural industry.
When visitors can participate in the workshop “Discovering Quang Ninh Cuisine”, meet food bloggers, or watch mixing and cooking demonstrations, they are not only consuming products but also participating in a lively cultural dialogue.
From the success of the Quang Ninh Food Festival, it can be seen that cuisine is no longer a “support” but is becoming a fulcrum for local tourism development. In Vietnam’s general strategy towards green and sustainable tourism, cuisine has profound humanistic values, honoring people, respecting nature, and preserving heritage.
As food becomes a bridge between the past and the present, between the locality and the world, Quang Ninh is contributing to continue writing the story of an attractive, friendly and creative Vietnam, a country that can conquer the world from the very simple flavors of its homeland.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/du-lich/ket-noi-ban-sac-va-phat-trien-du-lich-178363.html
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