A way forward for Hoi An tourism during the flood season.

Exploring Hoi An ancient town by boat during the flood season is a memorable experience for many tourists. Photo: QT

Over the past few days, the water level of the Hoai River has risen, flooding several roads near the riverbank in Hoi An Old Town. While this has caused some inconvenience to residents and negatively impacted the area's historical sites, the flooding has also brought about unique sights that not many tourists get to experience when visiting Hoi An.

Typically, when the water level on the Thu Bon River in Hoi An reaches alarm level 2, water begins to flood several streets such as Bach Dang, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Loi… Among them, Bach Dang street, which runs along the Hoai River, is the most severely flooded.

According to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Quang Buu, due to its unique topography, flooding in Hoi An ancient town differs from many other places as the water does not flow rapidly, mainly because the water cannot drain quickly enough into the sea.

Therefore, Hoi An can still be favorable for tourism activities even during the flood season. To some extent, the floods also create a unique brand for Hoi An, provided, of course, that safety measures are in place for tourists.

International tourists are delighted to visit Hoi An right when it's flooded. Photo: QT

Currently, Hoi An maintains around 300 boats serving tourists on the Hoai River, which is a favorable condition for providing Hoi An experiences during the flood season.

Although taking tourists to visit the ancient town during flood season has been a practice in Hoi An for decades, creating a unique tour route that adds depth to the product remains an open question.

According to Mr. Vo Phung, Vice President of the Quang Nam Tourism Association, floodwaters in Hoi An usually rise to a certain level and then recede very slowly, creating a rare moment during the year to organize boat trips for tourists, allowing them to leisurely glide past the ancient rooftops almost touching the water's edge, right up to the doorways and signs... a unique cultural feature of this town.

Additionally, as the water recedes, tours can be organized for visitors to join locals in cleaning up trash, mud, and washing artifacts within the historical site.

At a workshop on urban planning in Quang Nam, Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh - President of the Sustainable Tourism Development Science Association (STDe) - stated that rising floodwaters offer tourists the opportunity to admire the overall landscape of Hoi An's ancient rooftops, take boat tours through the winding alleys of Hoi An, or stop at cafes on the second floors of ancient houses to enjoy various art forms created by the rain…

This will be a unique tourist route and will attract a significant number of visitors from this new tourism product if tourism professionals and managers in Hoi An dare to think outside the box and take action.

Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh believes that GIS technology should be used to manage flood levels and plan and design tourist routes and attractions that are suitable for enjoying the scenery of Hoi An ancient town during rainy and flood days.

In addition, it is necessary to design more shelters for rainy and flood days along the routes, with attractive architectural styles that are in harmony with the landscape of the heritage city.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/loi-mo-cho-du-lich-hoi-an-mua-lut-3144886.html