'Bridge' for promoting community tourism

QTO - Western Quang Tri, with its majestic mountains and forests, numerous pristine waterfalls and streams, and the unique cultural identity of the Van Kieu and Pa Ko ethnic minorities, has long been considered a region rich in potential for community-based tourism development. In recent years, with the attention of various levels of government and relevant agencies, many young people in the locality have boldly initiated experiential tourism models, homestays, and promoted destinations on social media… This has contributed to “awakening” the inherent potential of the villages, creating livelihoods for the community, and spreading the image of their homeland to tourists near and far. They are the “bridges” bringing tourists to the villages.

The man who "awakened" Ta Puong Waterfall

Nestled in the Truong Son mountain range, Ta Puong waterfall in Trang Ta Puong village, Huong Lap commune, has become a familiar destination for many nature-loving tourists . Few know that its current beauty is thanks to the efforts of the local people, with the important role played by Mr. Ho Van Gioi.

Born and raised amidst the vast forests, Mr. Gioi always pondered how to transform his hometown into an attractive destination for experiential tourism . Recognizing the pristine beauty of Ta Puong Waterfall as a potential tourism development advantage, in 2021, he boldly proposed establishing the Trang Ta Puong Community Tourism Management Model Group. Initially, everything was almost non-existent. The road to the waterfall was rugged, the forest was dense, and there was no infrastructure to serve tourists. Together with the villagers, Mr. Gioi mobilized the people to contribute their labor and resources to open a path to the waterfall, clean up the landscape, and build bamboo huts as resting places for tourists.

“It was very difficult at first. It took us many days of labor to build even a small section of road to the waterfall. During the rainy season, many parts of the project were washed away, and we had to start over. But thinking about creating livelihoods for the local people while promoting the beautiful scenery of our homeland, everyone was determined,” Gioi shared.

Ta Puong Waterfall in Huong Lap commune has become an experiential tourism destination attracting many visitors - Photo: LT

According to Mr. Gioi, the Trang Ta Puong Community Tourism Group has 22 members, representing households in the village. Besides exploiting the natural landscape, the villagers also organize many experiential activities such as SUP paddling, swimming in waterfalls, enjoying traditional Van Kieu dishes, and learning about handicrafts made from bamboo and rattan by the local people.

"The important thing is that community-based tourism has contributed to changing people's perceptions. Previously, people's lives mainly depended on farming, but now many families have additional income from tourism services. At the same time, awareness of environmental protection and preservation of natural landscapes has also been raised," Mr. Gioi said enthusiastically.

Bringing homestays to the village.

While Mr. Ho Van Gioi chose to exploit the beauty of nature to develop experiential tourism, in Chenh Venh village, Huong Phung commune, Ms. Ho Thi Thiet chose a different path: developing a homestay model linked to local culture.

In previous years, the lives of her family, like many households in the village, mainly depended on farming, resulting in unstable income. When she learned about community tourism development support programs, she began to think about utilizing her family's traditional stilt house as accommodation for tourists. Determined to turn her idea into reality, she boldly borrowed capital, renovated the stilt house, built additional facilities, and purchased necessary items to serve guests.

After a period of preparation, Ms. Thiet's family homestay model officially opened. Her homestay is not just a place to stay overnight; visitors can also experience cooking, enjoy traditional dishes of the Van Kieu ethnic minority, participate in community activities, and explore the surrounding nature of the village.

“Besides accommodation and food services, I and many young people in the village guide guests on how to make the traditional AYƠH cake of the Vân Kiều people, introduce traditional costumes; tell stories about the Ta-Lư musical instrument, perform local culture for tourists; organize experiential activities such as casting nets to catch fish, digging for bamboo shoots… Thanks to this, my homestay has gradually attracted many tourists from inside and outside the province, not only bringing a stable income to my family but also creating motivation for many other households in the village to participate in community tourism,” Ms. Thiết confided.

Thanks to her bold investment, Ms. Ho Thi Thiet's homestay has become a familiar resting place for many tourists - Photo: LT

In Chênh Vênh village, there are currently about 16 households involved in tourism activities. Some of these households have invested in developing homestays, food services, and guiding tourists through village tours. According to Ms. Thiet, what makes her happiest is not only contributing to increased income for the villagers but also changing their mindset, showing them that if they know how to utilize the natural and cultural advantages of the village, they can absolutely develop tourism to improve their lives.

"Ambassadors" taking community tourism further afield.

Besides young people directly involved in tourism in the villages, another force is also making a significant contribution to bringing the image of Quang Tri tourism to a wider audience: young people creating content on social media.

Born and raised in the border commune of Lao Bao, Nguyen Truc Duong has a passion for exploration and travel. During her trips, Duong realized that her hometown has many beautiful places that are still relatively unknown. From there, she began trying her hand at being a travel TikToker. Initially, she made simple videos documenting her personal experiences. Later, Duong gradually learned how to create scripts, film, edit, and produce more engaging videos.

Duong's videos often showcase prominent check-in spots in Khe Sanh, local cuisine, and the lives of the Van Kieu and Pa Ko people. Thanks to its relatable and authentic content, Duong's TikTok channel has attracted tens of thousands of followers and hundreds of thousands of likes. Furthermore, many tourists who watched the videos have visited the featured locations in person. This has significantly contributed to promoting the local tourism image.

Sharing the same passion as Truc Duong, Ms. Tran Thi Lanh from Ben Quan commune is also building social media channels specializing in introducing tourism and history of Quang Tri. After many years working in the media field in Hanoi, Ms. Lanh decided to return to her hometown and start creating videos exploring historical sites, scenic spots, and tourist destinations in Quang Tri. Thanks to her lively presentation, many of Lanh's videos have attracted thousands of views, contributing to helping young people better understand the history and culture of their homeland.

Each person has a different approach, but the common thread among young people like Ho Van Gioi, Ho Thi Thiet, Nguyen Truc Duong, and Tran Thi Lanh is their love for their homeland. In the context of increasingly popular experiential and community-based tourism, the dynamism and creativity of young people serve as a "bridge" to open up many new avenues for the potential of the Mekong Delta region.

Le Truong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/du-lich/202604/nhip-cau-quang-ba-du-lich-cong-dong-06a3829/