Exploiting the "gold mine" of suburban tourism

Huge potential

Hanoi is a place with a rich culture, history, heritage system, and unique craft villages. Notably, the suburban areas of Hanoi have many advantages to develop into attractive tourist routes with many famous craft villages, relics, and heritages.

After switching to a two-tier local government model, Hanoi now has 75 communes. Each area has its own advantages in developing different types of tourism. In the western part of the city, which is connected to the center by Thang Long Avenue and Road 32, dense tourist destinations are located along these routes. Typical examples are Thay Pagoda, Tay Phuong Pagoda, carpentry village - water puppet village - Chang Son fan village, Tuan Chau - Quoc Oai tourist area... In particular, the western area is home to Ba Vi mountain, with natural landscapes suitable for developing eco-tourism.

The northern and eastern areas of the city used to be the Kinh Bac cultural region. Here, there are famous cultural sites such as: Sai Temple, Dao Thuc Water Puppet Village, Co Loa Citadel, Bat Trang Pottery Village, Kim Lan Pottery Village, Y Lan Queen Mother Temple, etc.

Tich Loc Commune - a famous flower and ornamental plant growing area in the suburbs of Hanoi - has been recognized as a Hanoi Craft Village, opening up many potentials for developing craft village tourism. Assessing this potential, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association Phung Quang Thang said that Tich Loc can become an attractive destination when connected with nearby relics and scenic spots such as the Hat Mon Temple National Special Monument, Duong Lam ancient village, Son Tay ancient citadel, Thay Pagoda, Tay Phuong Pagoda and Ba Vi tourist area. Linking these destinations will help tourism businesses easily build day tours or expand into long-term tours to serve domestic and international tourists.

Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Trung Hieu said that the craft villages in the southern tourist route of Hanoi all have high aesthetic value, attracting tourists. Connecting craft villages with other tourist destinations will create an attraction for international tourists.

In fact, in recent times, in order to attract visitors, in addition to promoting the connection of many points, eco-tourism routes such as Thien Son - Suoi Nga, Khoang Xanh - Suoi Tien, Ao Vua... have also continuously innovated their methods of operation. If in the past, these tourist destinations mainly served sightseeing, now they are combined with services such as adventure sports , kayaking, camping... and health care services to create a line of resort tourism products combined with health care that is highly appreciated by many domestic and international visitors.

Boosting investment in destination infrastructure

Although considered a "gold mine" of tourism in the capital, the suburban areas have not yet fully exploited their inherent potential. According to Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Nguyen Tran Quang, the reason why suburban tourism has not yet fully exploited its potential is because localities have not yet identified the target customers to attract, so there is no clear product planning and development strategy. In addition, tourism services are still lacking, tour guides have not yet met actual needs. Moreover, promotion activities are not yet professional, causing the number of visitors to the suburban areas to not be commensurate with the potential and advantages.

From an expert perspective, Chairman of the Hanoi Tourism Association Nguyen Manh Than said that although the potential for suburban tourism is huge, the lack of proper investment has prevented resources from being turned into attractive products. Many relics are ranked as special national relics, but their activities are seasonal, with some relics only attracting visitors during a few festival days a year. Many craft villages still rely mainly on production and have not yet attracted tourists. In addition, the traffic infrastructure connecting suburban attractions is not synchronized, which makes it difficult for independent tourists or package tours.

*International tourists visit Quang Phu Cau incense stick village. Photo: Hoai Nam*

To solve these “problems”, according to tourism experts, a mechanism for inter-sectoral and inter-sectoral cooperation is needed. Standing Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association Cao Thi Ngoc Lan said that to develop suburban tourism, Hanoi needs to improve regional connectivity to create diverse tour chains, while at the same time, promoting digital communication through social networks, promotional videos and virtual tours to increase the spread.

General Director of Travelogy Tourism Company Vu Van Tuyen "suggested" that in order to exploit the "gold mine" of suburban tourism, in the coming time, Hanoi tourism needs to focus on building two main products: craft village tourism and agricultural tourism. But to do this, businesses need to closely connect with suburban areas to form reasonable tours and routes with high connectivity.

In response to suggestions from businesses and experts, Director of the Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said that suburban tourism is a key point in the capital's tourism development plan from now until 2030. To do this, localities need to build new tourism products, create close connections, and turn potential into "leverage" to attract tourists. Recently, the Hanoi Department of Tourism coordinated with suburban districts to build two new tourist routes "Discovering the South Thang Long Heritage Road". Specifically, Hanoi Center - Thanh Tri - Thuong Tin - Phu Xuyen and Hanoi Center - Thanh Oai - Ung Hoa - My Duc. This is a potential tourist route for travel agencies to exploit for both domestic and international tourists who want to learn about Hanoi's culture and craft villages. Thereby, enhancing the tourism image of suburban areas, creating a basis for localities to enhance conservation and cultural values, stimulate service development, promote infrastructure development, and at the same time distribute visitors from crowded places to places with fewer visitors.

“Hanoi’s tourism products all have the same spirit: preserving and promoting traditional values, inspiring creativity, connecting heritage and contemporary life. These products not only contribute to diversifying the capital’s tourism products, but are also vivid evidence for the new community tourism development model – where heritage values are spread through the creativity of the people. Through the construction of new tourism routes, the model can be replicated to all suburban districts” – Ms. Dang Huong Giang shared.

To awaken suburban tourism, in addition to the efforts of the tourism industry and local authorities, Hanoi needs to accelerate the completion and upgrading of transport and tourism infrastructure of key tourist areas. At the same time, step up support for localities in training human resources and promoting images so that tourists know the unique features of the region, thereby building the necessary and sufficient conditions for tourism development.

Source: Economic & Urban Newspaper

Source: http://sodulich.hanoi.gov.vn/khai-thac-mo-vang-du-lich-ngoai-thanh.html