The "Golden Season of Quang Nam" fades into obscurity.

The highlands of Quang Nam province have suitable locations for "cloud hunting" tours , but currently, these activities are mostly spontaneous and lack organized planning. Photo: QT

A difficult debut

This is the first year the "Golden Season in Quang Nam" tourism stimulus program has been organized. The stimulus package, announced in April 2024, is expected to improve the decline in tourist numbers during the off-season (approximately September to November) and create new, unique local experiences for visitors to Quang Nam with promising programs such as: "Mossy Ancient Town," "Hoi An during the Flood Season," "New Rice Festival," "Golden Season Covering the Green," etc.

Delving deeper into the program, the stimulus measures are divided into two phases based on weather characteristics. From September to the first half of October, when sunny weather predominates, the focus will be on attracting customers related to the "golden season" theme. From the second half of October to the end of November, during the peak of the rainy season, the products will be geared towards customers who "love the rainy season."

However, some seasonal activities or features in the localities that could be integrated to attract tourists, such as creative workshops, the rice harvest season in the terraced fields of Quang Nam, the "New Rice Festival," cloud hunting and overnight camping in the mountains... all pass by quietly like every year, with only a few scattered, spontaneous visitors, lacking any distinct highlights.

Mr. Le Quoc Viet, Chairman of the Quang Nam Destination Club for Preserving Local Values ​​(Quang Nam Tourism Association), acknowledges that the "Golden Season in Quang Nam" tourism stimulus program has not yielded the expected results so far.

Possible reasons include unpredictable weather patterns; a lack of strong involvement from relevant stakeholders; and insufficient funding for promotion and advertising.

"From the moment I established the program, I hoped that the authorities would be able to organize the 'Quang Nam Day in Hanoi ' program, because one of the key target markets identified when stimulating demand during the off-season was the middle-aged and elderly group in the North, but ultimately it was not achieved."

"However, as an initial step, the club has established a website to promote and advise customers on tour planning. At the same time, it has connected with and established a network of local guides at many destinations in the province to support groups of tourists visiting Quang Nam during the off-season, which is a good foundation for the future," Mr. Viet said.

Product ambiguity

According to the initial plan, the packages in the stimulus program would guide tourists towards experiencing local cultural stories such as maritime and island culture, heritage culture, the cultural flow from Ngoc Linh peak down to the Thu Bon River… and use local people as storytellers so that tourists can truly appreciate the beauty of this land. However, this expectation cannot be realized without regular and specific tour routes.

Exploring "Hoi An during the flood season" is still dependent on weather conditions and lacks systematic management. Photo: QT

According to Mr. Dinh Van Loc, Director of Viet Da Tourism Joint Stock Company (Da Nang), although his company regularly connects tourists to Quang Nam, he doesn't know much about the "Golden Season in Quang Nam" program.

Meanwhile, one of the key factors in achieving effective demand stimulation is ensuring that the information disseminated to travel agencies and target markets is attractive and widely available.

"Actually, stimulating demand in Quang Nam during this off-season is very difficult, because apart from a few familiar destinations, the products that Quang Nam plans to promote are quite vague."

While what the travel agency needs is for the product to take place regularly or at least to be guaranteed to take place on the schedule set for the tour offered to the customer.

"If the promotion is too general, or if there's a high risk of postponement or cancellation due to weather conditions on the event day, it will be difficult for businesses and create a negative impression of the destination for tourists," Mr. Loc shared.

Overall, according to tourism businesses, Quang Nam's launch of a tourism stimulus program during the off-season is necessary, but many things need improvement to create practical results. If it continues to be implemented in subsequent years, Quang Nam needs a comprehensive plan with the synchronized participation and support of all relevant parties.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nhat-nhoa-mua-vang-xu-quang-3142795.html