New resort space
With a natural area of over 1,119 km², Ha Long City boasts diverse topography ranging from hills and valleys to coastal areas. Notably, the city is home to the Dong Son - Ky Thuong Nature Reserve, a large natural area of nearly 15,600 hectares, preserving many rare and precious plant and animal species. It spans five communes: Dong Son, Ky Thuong, Dong Lam, Vu Oai, and Hoa Binh, along with a system of streams, waterfalls, caves, and naturally distributed lakes. These advantages have made the new Ha Long City one of the cities with the highest proportion of forest land and ecological resources in Northern Vietnam. In particular, the highland communes of the former Hoanh Bo district are a "rough gem" being awakened by various agricultural and ecotourism models linked to the local community.
One of the pioneering models is Am Vap Farm in Khe Phuong village (Ky Thuong commune), primarily inhabited by the Thanh Phan Dao ethnic group, transforming Khe Phuong from a remote, isolated area into a new magnet for mountain tourism in Ha Long. Here, locals and businesses cooperate to develop community tourism with the philosophy: "Cultural preservation is the foundation, the indigenous people are the main actors." Visitors to Am Vap Farm can not only immerse themselves in the village atmosphere, visit vegetable gardens, pick bamboo shoots themselves, observe the honey harvesting process, and camp by the stream, but also learn about the embroidery art of the Thanh Phan Dao women, admire the graceful Dao girls performing the bell dance, and play traditional games like throwing the ball in the spacious courtyard in front of the stilt house.
Mr. Cameroon McCracken (a British tourist) enthusiastically stated: "I am truly overwhelmed by the magnificent scenery and the friendly people here. There are so many fascinating and interesting experiences at Am Vap Farm that I think many international tourists will enjoy."
In Son Duong commune, another model that is gradually spreading is the ecological farm combined with cultural preservation of Mr. An Van Kim, a San Diu ethnic minority member, in Dong Dang village. Initially, his family only built a few huts to serve as a gathering place for singing Soong Co songs and introducing traditional dishes. Now, this model has expanded to include an organic guava orchard, fishing experiences, and the idea of displaying models of traditional San Diu clothing, tools, and production implements in the old house for tourists to take souvenir photos, helping to preserve the fading culture and create livelihoods for local people.
Not just limited to individual models, Ha Long City is gradually forming a network of green destinations with the participation of many projects such as Man's Farm, Quang La Flower Paradise, Happy Land Thong Nhat, Ga Mo, Dong Dong… These locations often exploit natural landscapes such as hills, lakes, streams, and forests, combined with services such as camping, photo opportunities, fishing, local cuisine , and boating. This is a type of tourism that "touches nature," suitable for post-Covid-19 relaxation trends and helps reduce stress from the pressures of daily life.
A prime example is Happy Land Ha Long, a 5-hectare eco-tourism area in Thong Nhat commune that is increasingly becoming a favorite destination for families, students, and groups of young people. With support from the local government in investment procedures, it is expected to expand to 15 hectares with a capital of 200 billion VND in 2025 and subsequent years, promising to become a standard eco-tourism area serving the needs of education, entertainment, and weekend relaxation. Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong (Ha Long City) said: "Happy Land is covered by more than 70% green trees and sprawling lawns, providing a relaxing feeling from the very first steps. Therefore, on weekends, my friends and I often bring our children here to give them a space to play and to strengthen family bonds."
A new direction for green tourism.
Despite its abundant potential and diverse models, the reality shows that the development of ecotourism and agriculture in Ha Long City still faces many challenges. Of the more than 10 million tourists expected to visit Ha Long in 2024, the number of visitors to the highlands is still not commensurate with the potential that this area possesses.
Most current models are spontaneous, small-scale, lack long-term strategies, and are not interconnected or synchronized. Some agricultural areas have uniform natural conditions, living habits, and community culture. This leads to duplication and monotony in agricultural tourism products and services, for example, growing the same type of fruit (guava, oranges...), serving the same type of cuisine, resulting in a lack of unique identity and reduced attractiveness to tourists.
Another notable issue is the limited tourism skills of the local population. The majority of those involved in agricultural tourism are farmers who have transitioned into this field and lack formal training in hospitality, tour guiding, and organizing experiential activities. This results in rudimentary service quality at many locations: They offer only basic food and accommodation, with few supplementary activities such as cultural performances, folk games, or the sale of unique souvenirs.
Infrastructure, particularly transportation, communication, and clean water systems, in rural tourist destinations has not been adequately invested in. In some places, roads are difficult to navigate, there is a lack of clear signage or standard restrooms, and 4G coverage is unavailable, creating difficulties for both tourists and investors.
On the other hand, the link between travel agencies and local communities is not strong. Ecotourism and agricultural tours are mostly organized by individual groups, lacking the participation of professional tourism businesses. This results in an incomplete value chain, with tourists coming and going without leaving much economic value or lasting impact.
However, amidst the difficulties, there are still optimistic signs. Ha Long City currently has clear strategic directions for developing green and sustainable tourism. The digitization of tourism information, the use of virtual reality technology in introducing destinations, and connectivity through smart apps are also correct steps for the city to improve service quality and promote its tourism widely.
Associate Professor Dr. Duong Van Huy, Head of the Island Research Department, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, affirmed: In the current context of international integration, rural areas with their familiar agricultural ecological landscapes are attractive and valuable tourism resources for tourists, especially foreign visitors. Possessing many favorable conditions and unique agricultural products, the province and the highland localities of the city need specific mechanisms, solutions, and strategies to build an agricultural tourism model linked to agricultural products.
To realize this goal, Ha Long City needs close coordination between the government, the people, businesses, and experts. The government needs to provide financial, technical, and media support for agricultural tourism models. Businesses need to proactively work alongside the people from organization to product promotion. The people need to receive proper training and knowledge in welcoming guests, explaining culture, protecting the environment, etc.
According to Mr. Pham Hai Quynh (Director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute): Building "green tourism routes" connecting destinations such as Quang La - Ky Thuong - Son Duong - Dong Lam… with itineraries featuring local cuisine, picking vegetables in the forest, bathing in rocky streams, and staying in stilt houses… In this way, each agricultural product, not just a mere commodity, can become a "signature" tourism product, bearing the unique characteristics of Ha Long City, contributing to diversifying the tourism landscape of the entire province. More importantly, ecotourism and agricultural tourism also help spread development benefits to remote areas, places that were previously almost outside the tourism map. When people have additional income from tourism, when cultural identity is respected and preserved, and when nature is protected as part of their livelihood, that is when Ha Long achieves truly sustainable development.
Ha Long City is facing a great opportunity to become a bright spot on Vietnam's ecotourism and agricultural tourism map. Not only does it boast the majestic Ha Long Bay, but the entire northern mountainous region, with its lush forests, abundant fruits, and rich ethnic culture, is undergoing a transformation. With a well-planned development strategy and the support of the government and community, Ha Long can absolutely become a national model for green tourism and community-oriented tourism, where people and nature blend together in a sustainable journey.
Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/tp-ha-long-tu-vung-cao-doi-nui-den-mien-du-lich-xanh-3362107.html
![OCOP during Tet season: [Part 3] Ultra-thin rice paper takes off.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvphoto.vietnam.vn%2Fthumb%2F402x226%2Fvietnam%2Fresource%2FIMAGE%2F2026%2F01%2F28%2F1769562783429_004-194121_651-081010.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Comment (0)