When young people work in tourism

The name "Ong Huong Farm Stay" is now certainly familiar to tourists in the province, especially young people. This is the brainchild of young 9X generation entrepreneur Nguyen Ha Dong and his Gen Z collaborators.

Nguyen Ha Dong and Doan Huu Ngo (from right to left) at Ong Huong Farm Stay.

Ong Huong Farm Stay, located in Nhuan Thach village, Dong Tien commune (Dong Son district), is a new tourist destination that opened in early 2022. The destination quickly attracted the attention of many visitors due to its green, peaceful atmosphere and its proximity to Thanh Hoa city center (only about 15 minutes away).

It is known that the "owner" of Ong Huong Farm Stay is Nguyen Ha Dong (born in 1995). In 2019, Ha Dong graduated from the Vietnamese Studies - Tourism major at Hong Duc University. Being quick-witted and energetic, Ha Dong participated in tourism activities since his student days. In 2017, Nguyen Ha Dong, along with Doan Huu Ngo (born in 1990) and several other young people, founded DNS Media, the predecessor of Dong Son Event & Travel Joint Stock Company (Dong Son Event & Travel - specializing in event and tourism organization). In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all activities came to a standstill, and the team members discussed creating a destination where they could gather and freely express their artistic creativity...

True to their word, after a short period of planning, Ha Dong and Huu Ngo came up with an idea, and with the help of several team members, decided to "start a business" on Ha Dong's parents' land. One of the advantages for the young people was the large plot of land in their hometown, over 10,000 square meters, with an existing orchard over 30 years old... Especially, the transportation connection from the center of Thanh Hoa City to this place was extremely convenient. However, the biggest difficulty for Ha Dong and the young people at that time was the investment capital. With the support of his family, Ha Dong initially mortgaged his property to borrow 900 million VND from the bank. "At a time when the pandemic was developing complicatedly and the economy was difficult, many people thought this was a very risky decision, and even some people in the village said I was crazy..." - Ha Dong said.

With dedication and commitment to their work, coupled with the strong support of several young people in the Dong Son Event & Travel team, the idea of ​​a farm destination quickly became a reality after a short time. On January 17, 2022, Ong Huong Farm Stay completed phase 1 and began welcoming trial guests. With main functional areas such as dining, experiences, and check-in areas, it offers visitors a green space close to nature, meeting the "staycation" trend (traveling near where one lives) at a time when tourism is reopening after COVID-19.

Sharing about this, Ha Dong said: “For about two months after opening, the farm was always overwhelmed with visitors. Partly due to the rise of safe tourism at that time, and partly because I and my team focused on promoting it on social media, attracting a large number of tourists, especially young people. As a member of an event organizing company, the farm always received strong support from the members of the Dong Son Event & Travel team. Initially, to promote the farm, we focused on creating videos themed “Mr. Huong Farm,” revolving around the everyday stories of Mr. Huong and Mrs. Nghi – down-to-earth farmers in the era of reform. Many of these videos attracted millions of views.”

After a period of operation, Ong Huong Farm Stay is now not only a tourist attraction and experiential destination but also a venue for events and the sale of local agricultural products. From there, the customer market has expanded to provinces and cities in the North and some provinces in the South of the country. With its operations gradually stabilizing, Ong Huong Farm Stay is now the regular workplace for 9 young people, aged 20-32. Here, these young people both perform their professional duties and actively participate in creating content on digital platforms to promote the destination.

Constantly innovating its approach and tourism products, the current media theme focuses on "Youthful Stories," featuring many attractive music shows and videos filmed at the farm. In October, Ong Huong Farm Stay will organize several new settings and check-in spaces, focusing on the theme of "Vietnamese Women's Day, October 20th." In particular, members of the Dong Son Event & Travel team are also actively finalizing the program and script for "Teambuilding: Experiencing History," focusing on local history. The program is expected to be "tested" in mid-October. Therefore, Ha Dong, Huu Ngo, and the team members are urgently completing the script, decorating the space and setting, building the Hoang Cam kitchen, and preparing costumes and props suitable for the upcoming teambuilding activities.

Speaking about the advantages of young people in the tourism industry, Nguyen Ha Dong succinctly stated: “They are daring, dynamic, and creative. The important thing for team members is that they have good health and a desire for self-improvement and self-affirmation. These are the factors that motivate each young person in the team to strive, innovate, and contribute to building Ong Huong Farm Stay into an attractive tourist destination, while also developing Dong Son Event & Travel into a strong entity in the field of event organization and tourism in the province in the future.”

Text and photos: Hoai Anh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/khi-nguoi-tre-lam-du-lich-226015.htm