The My Son heritage site and its surrounding area have significant potential for connecting and developing responsible tourism that focuses on sharing with the community. (Photo by Khieu Minh)
The communities surrounding the Heritage Site, including adjacent communes and neighboring areas, have begun to embrace the spread of heritage values through local activities, numerous international cooperation programs, social welfare policies, and economic and heritage education activities.
Current status of community tourism in the My Son Heritage area
In terms of location, My Son is a renowned tourist area on the Central Vietnam Heritage Route. Many connecting roads to the heritage site have been developed over time, gradually transforming the surrounding area into service centers outside the heritage site. These favorable conditions provide tourists with more options to get closer to and experience this region.
However, one of the most significant challenges is the underdeveloped tourism infrastructure. The entire region currently has only one four-star hotel. Several historical sites and natural attractions, such as the Thach Ban Dam, the An Hoa and Duc Duc industrial zones, and fruit orchards, remain largely untapped potential. Furthermore, the heritage site is located in a mountainous, isolated valley, limiting the reach of tourism activities.
Local tourism products are limited, and distinctive agricultural products are only used for local consumption, not transformed into tourism products due to a lack of promotional activities, a lack of linkage between producers/establishments, marketing, and businesses, and a lack of consistent brand recognition. Festival programs are not organized regularly because the local community is not the main organizer.
The current situation means that tourism in My Son has not truly focused on the community and has not attracted local people to participate. Besides the single destination of the My Son Heritage Site, travel businesses lack other destinations or products to establish tour routes. The community-based homestay tourism village established in March 2013 and the My Son broom oil making village quickly failed due to a lack of linkages, connections, and distinctive products.
At the My Son Heritage Site, in addition to promoting tourism, building brand awareness, and protecting its reputation, the Management Board has also developed several tourism products such as Cham dance performances, historical site visits, cultural tourism combined with ecological experiences, digital transformation tourism products, and service activities such as electric vehicle transfers, souvenir sales, and the "My Son Legend" night tour. Of these, only the souvenir sales product incorporates community elements into tourism through the use of local products such as vối tea, dung leaves, handicrafts, and traditional village products. The products that the Management Board previously supported in the community, such as broom oil production and homestay tourism mentioned above, could not be developed over time due to the selective nature of economic laws.
Connecting, creating new products - a viable solution.
However, there has been a clear improvement in tourism infrastructure recently, as various levels of government and local authorities have shown greater interest in My Son and the communities surrounding the heritage site.
Infrastructure investment, with the emergence of attractions such as fruit orchards and the upcoming development of a tourism service area outside Khe The and Thach Ban dam, provides clear and concrete advantages for community-based tourism to take a new direction. Links and connections create synergy, enabling tourism development not only in the surrounding community areas of the former Duy Phu commune (now Thu Bon commune, Da Nang city), but also in satellite areas such as Dai Binh, Son Vien hot springs, Duc Duc relics, An Hoa, the Thu Bon mausoleum, and local agricultural products such as lotus tea, pepper, peanut oil, sesame oil, brown rice, and fragrant rice, which will have the opportunity to be branded as tourism destinations. The former center of Duy Phu commune, only about 2 km from My Son Sanctuary, is being developed as a center for overnight accommodation with cultural and artistic activities reflecting the local identity.
The My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board continues to proactively support activities such as displaying, promoting, and consigning local products and souvenirs. It coordinates with local authorities to support the community through training and professional development programs conducted by organizations and individuals. It facilitates community participation in building and developing local ecological products, such as boating on Thach Ban Lake. It invests in infrastructure, decorative activities, and lighting effects outside the Khe The area to support the community in operating food and entertainment services at night in the area around the Thach Ban dam. In addition to maintaining the " Legendary My Son Night" product , it continues to add to the list of products including My Son night festivals, culinary events, and light shows to increase the attractiveness of night tourism and provide livelihoods for the community through accommodation and dining services. From March 2025, several travel companies specializing in luxury and cruise ship passengers will sign agreements to regularly utilize this service.
In the coming period, the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board will continue to proactively play a role in promoting linkages, including linkages between tourist attractions and experiences with My Son, and linkages between My Son and domestic and international travel companies and agencies. This work will be carried out through supporting information and promotion at the destination, solutions for sharing tourist sources, building interconnected joint products; and supporting the establishment of new tour routes with the participation of the business community. In addition, it will continue to actively develop types and products of cultural and historical tourism in the region, encompassing not only Cham culture but also the shared cultural values of Vietnam, historical and revolutionary relics, and rural and craft village tourism.
The immediate and long-term goal is to work together to build My Son into a green tourism destination, a place for "amazing experiences" along with responsible tourism aimed at sharing with the community. Based on this, we will strengthen, build, train, and supplement a workforce capable of developing tourism effectively, integrating into the development trend, and participating in supporting and linking with the community.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/ket-noi-de-cung-phat-trien-post899457.html
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