Western tourists spend millions to ride buffaloes and plant rice in Ninh Binh

For over a year now, the Hang Trau tourist experience area (Nam Hoa Lu ward, Ninh Binh province) has attracted a large number of international tourists to visit and experience "being a Vietnamese farmer".

This experiential tourism area was originally the livestock farm of Mr. Nguyen The Nhi's family (Dam Khe Trong street). Previously, his family only raised chickens, ducks, buffaloes, and fish, developing the economy in the traditional way. Since applying and linking to develop the rural tourism model, the family's life has changed.

Mr. Nhi shared that rural tourism in Ninh Binh has developed over the years. Western tourists flock to the locality to visit and stay at homestays... His family's farm is located in a tourist area, but the family has no direction for development. In early 2024, when the family joined young people to do experiential tourism for Western tourists, a surprise came.

Ms. Vu Thi Huyen, manager of the Hang Trau tourist experience area, shared that Western tourists coming to Ninh Binh have always mainly come to visit and sightsee, so their stay is very short, bringing in low revenue.

"Tourism in Ninh Binh is mainly about visiting scenic spots, heritage, culture and festivals. Tourist areas and spots are all located next to rural villages. Therefore, creating a model for tourists to experience being a farmer is very necessary," said Ms. Huyen.

Ms. Huyen has traveled to many places in the country and abroad, realizing that Western tourists really like to experience the culture of the local people. Therefore, creating the experience of being a farmer for foreign tourists in Ninh Binh is a new and sustainable direction for the people here to develop the economy based on the inherent simplicity.

From the chicken, duck, and buffalo farm, Ms. Huyen and Mr. Nhi's group have cleaned it up and decorated it neatly. Here, when tourists come to visit and experience being a farmer, they will have to spend 1 million VND to wear brown shirts, ride buffaloes, wade through mud to catch fish, plant rice...

Mr. Stefeno Grossi (born in 1963, Italian nationality) and his family came to Vietnam for the first time. When coming to Ninh Binh and experiencing being a farmer, he could not hide his joy: "This is the first time we have come to Vietnam, as well as participating in a real experience here. I feel very excited, relaxed and extremely happy. In Milan (Italy), we never had the opportunity to participate in such activities. This is truly a priceless experience."

Ms. Huyen added that during the peak tourist season, about 180 visitors come to visit and experience the farm every day, and on normal days, about 120 Western visitors. Visitors who come just to visit will pay 75,000 VND and will be served free drinks. When spending 1 million VND, visitors will be able to participate in all activities at the farm.

With the amount of money spent, tourists can feed buffaloes, ride buffaloes to the fields, plow the land to plant rice, wade in mud to catch fish, grill fish to eat, feed ducks and chickens, fish with a rod... At each experience activity, tourists are shared in detail about the meaning of each job of Vietnamese farmers.

"When tourists ride buffaloes, we share about the buffalo as an animal associated with Vietnamese farmers, the buffalo as the head of the family business, or the buffalo associated with the hero Dinh Bo Linh of Ninh Binh. When tourists plant rice, we share about the growth and development process of Vietnamese rice plants from sowing seeds, germination, young seedlings, transplanting rice, and producing rice grains," Ms. Huyen shared.

Western tourists enjoy the experience of feeding ducklings, an image that occurs daily in Vietnam but is attractive and different to international tourists. By combining agricultural production activities with rural tourism, many households in Ninh Binh have found a new sustainable direction, high income and strong development in the future.

In October, the number of visitors to Ninh Binh is estimated at 624,660. Of which, domestic visitors are 502,027, international visitors are 122,633. Revenue is estimated at over 789 billion VND.

By the end of October this year, the entire Ninh Binh province welcomed more than 16.6 million visitors, of which domestic visitors were 14.91 million; international visitors were 1.69 million (of which rural tourism contributed a large number of visitors). Total revenue is estimated at over 21,000 billion VND.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/khach-tay-chi-tien-trieu-de-cuoi-trau-cay-lua-o-ninh-binh-20251106170134070.htm