Difficulties in tourism related to traditional craft villages.

The development of tourism in craft villages will help create livelihoods and effectively preserve traditional crafts. Photo: VL

Lack of distinctive products

In November 2009, the Dong Khuong craft village cluster (Dien Phuong ward, Dien Ban district) announced its planning. According to this plan, all local traditional handicraft industries such as Phuoc Kieu bronze casting, fine art wood carving, rice paper making, Chiem Tay mat weaving, Le Duc Ha pottery, etc., will be concentrated in one common space.

The establishment of the Dong Khuong Craft Village Cluster, in addition to its purpose of preservation and concentrated production, also brought with it the hope of developing craft villages in a tourism-oriented direction. However, after nearly 15 years of implementation, it seems that these two objectives have not been achieved, especially the tourism development goal.

At the Nguyen Van Tiep Fine Woodworking Workshop (Dong Khuong Craft Village Cluster), in addition to producing goods, artisan Nguyen Van Tiep also invests in renovating the space, improving service infrastructure, and designing streamlined product models to meet the needs of tourists buying souvenirs...

However, very few visitors come to see it. Not far away, the Le Duc Ha Pottery Workshop also develops products and production models oriented towards tourism, but the number of visitors is negligible, mostly students from nearby areas, and tour groups are almost nonexistent.

Quang Nam province has approximately 30 craft villages and traditional craft villages, along with more than 2,200 craft production facilities. Many of these are linked to tourism, but the majority are fragmented.

In some craft villages such as Tra Nhieu mat weaving, Ma Chau silk weaving (Duy Xuyen), Cua Khe fish sauce (Thang Binh), Zara brocade weaving (Nam Giang), and even Kim Bong carpentry (Hoi An)... despite having the advantage of being close to tourist centers or possessing many unique cultural values, tourism development remains quite slow.

Mr. Le Sy Quyen – Director of Asia Pioneer Travel ( Hanoi ) – an expert in developing sustainable tourism products, believes that the role of businesses is indispensable for the development of craft village tourism or any other type of tourism, especially given the current shortage and weakness of local tourism human resources.

"Therefore, the tourism industry and localities need to be more determined on this issue, planning, preparing, and designing a systematic and professional experiential route with the participation of businesses, instead of the haphazard and spontaneous approach seen in the past," Mr. Quyen suggested.

Tourism in Quang Nam's craft villages remains fragmented, with each entity acting independently and lacking coordination. (Photo: VL)

Complete the connection.

Traditional craft village tourism is not new; it has been implemented by the tourism industry for over 20 years. The success of traditional craft villages in Hoi An, such as Thanh Ha pottery, Tra Que vegetable farming, and lantern making, has become a prime example, encouraging many businesses and craft villages throughout the province to plan and develop in this direction. However, not all have been successful.

Mr. Pham Vu Dung, Director of Hoa Hong Tourism and Service Company Limited (Hoi An), observes that the lack of novelty and product duplication has made craft village tourism in Quang Nam not truly attractive.

“We see potential everywhere, but the important thing is how to do it, how to design products so that travel businesses and tourists will accept them. In particular, there must be differentiation, because some local products are currently very similar, such as pottery, wood products, and mat weaving…” – Mr. Dung listed.

In reality, this is only one reason. Many factors hinder the development of craft village tourism. These range from limited human resources and inadequate transportation infrastructure to fragmented development and a lack of involvement from businesses.

Mr. Le Quoc Viet, Chairman of the Quang Nam Destination Club, believes that the lack of connectivity is the most important reason. "We need to find a way to connect craft villages near Hoi An, such as Dien Ban, Duy Xuyen, and even Thang Binh… to make it convenient for tourists."

"Next, craft villages must have specific products, and transportation infrastructure must be convenient, as transportation is currently a major obstacle. In addition, promotion and marketing efforts need to be strengthened because customers are not yet familiar with the products, and may even confuse the products of different craft villages," Mr. Viet explained.

Mr. Van Ba ​​Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province, affirmed that tourism businesses currently only exploit existing elements and pay little attention to traditional craft village products, leading to a lack of linkage between travel agencies and craft village owners.

The role of the tourism industry is limited to providing support such as guidance, training in tourism skills for craft village communities, and promoting craft village destinations…

"Businesses need to come in to introduce and exploit the products of the craft villages, but the craft villages themselves must also have linkages with each other, organize more frequent tours, promote the consumption of goods, preserve the craft villages, and aim for sustainable development," Mr. Son analyzed.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/kho-khan-du-lich-lang-nghe-3141111.html