Summer is also the peak season for "food tours" - culinary tourism. Many localities are now increasing their revenue by leveraging the advantage of delicious local cuisine.
Treat guests... like family.
Pierre, an American tourist who has visited Hoi An three times, chose to stay for over a week this summer with some friends in the outskirts of Hoi An. Among his experiences, Pierre said he most fondly remembers the meals he shared with local families in Cam Thanh.
This is also a new type of culinary tourism experience called "homemeal" - enjoying a meal in a local's home, a product of Duy Nhat Hoi An Tourism Services Co., Ltd.
Mr. Le Hoang Ha, General Director of the company, said that this is one of the activities within the company's high-end tourism products, mainly catering to European and American tourists. Homemeal has received very positive feedback from tourists. Visitors are treated to a family-style meal in the peaceful, rustic atmosphere of Hoi An...
The dining space is not just about food, but also about culture, emotions, and connection. With the homemeal model, tourists get to experience the daily life of the people of Hoi An – something that conventional tours can hardly offer.
Cuisine has long been a highlight of exploring Hoi An. But instead of simply enjoying meals in restaurants, many tourists – especially foreigners – are choosing a different kind of experience: sharing meals with local families, cooking alongside them, chatting around the table, and learning to understand Hoi An from... the kitchen.
According to Oxford Economics, food and beverages are a deciding factor for 7 out of 10 tourists when choosing a destination in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the World Culinary Tourism Association reports that international tourists spend approximately 25-35% of their travel budget on food. This demonstrates the enormous potential of this sector.
Retain tourists through cuisine.
Homemeal is not actually a new model. For many years, in the villages surrounding Hoi An such as Tra Que, Cam Thanh, Thanh Ha, etc., family meals with tourists have been offered, combined with activities such as cooking classes and gardening. However, most of these are still spontaneous, lacking standardized frameworks for food safety, hygiene, or communication skills with international guests.
According to Mr. Duong Minh Binh, a consultant specializing in community tourism development, in the trend of personalized and slow-paced tourism, authentic experiences with local people will be a distinctive feature, especially in the culinary field. However, without supportive policies, systematic training, and connections with the local tourism ecosystem, it will be difficult to spread and sustain this in the long term.
For inbound tourists, the trend of seeking authentic, in-depth, and local experiences is increasingly strong. To enable tourists not only to enjoy but also to truly understand Quang Nam's cuisine, unique tourism products need to be developed.
Some short but high-quality tours, embodying the spirit of "living like a local" with activities such as visiting markets, cooking, and sharing meals with local families, are considered by tourism experts to be a strategic step in diversifying tourism products.
Meanwhile, Central Vietnam is considered to have a rich culinary scene with hundreds of unique dishes, easily attracting tourists. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that along with many international food festivals that have been organized, combined with food markets in many cultural and artistic events, culinary tourism in Quang Nam has developed strongly, transforming cuisine into a distinctive tourism product.
The administrative merger between Quang Nam and Da Nang is seen as an opportunity for culinary tourism to develop comprehensively and sustainably.
Representatives from the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism acknowledge that when there is uniformity in the management, planning, and promotion of tourism, the effectiveness and quality of culinary tourism services will significantly improve.
The combination of Quang Nam's cultural heritage and Da Nang's modern infrastructure will create favorable conditions for developing attractive culinary tours, connecting famous destinations in both localities.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/ket-noi-diem-den-va-am-thuc-3156270.html
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