Tourists experience cooking traditional Hue dishes.

An enjoyable experience.

One morning in Thuy Bieu (Thuy Xuan ward), in an old traditional house, with a cup of hot tea and a plate of fruit picked from Mr. Ho Xuan Dai's garden, the owner of Xuan Dai garden gently began the conversation in a warm, deep voice: "We want tourists to enjoy Hue cuisine the way the locals do. In every step of the cooking process, they will feel the sophistication of Hue cuisine."

"Step by step..." as Mr. Dai puts it, visitors will follow the host to the early morning market, selecting bunches of vegetables, figs, and fresh fish before returning to the small kitchen filled with the scent of wood. A simple Hue meal with braised fish, stewed meat, boiled vegetables, and fig salad suddenly becomes a memorable experience, because the cook not only learns the dish but also hears stories about the land and people of this place.

Pierre Laurent, a French tourist, shared: “Shopping like a local is a great experience. I love the freshness of everything and I’m excited to know I’ll be able to cook it myself.”

According to tour guide Tran Huu Phuoc, what attracts tourists is not just the fruit trees or ancient traditional houses, but the sincerity of the local people. He said that tourists appreciate the simplicity and naturalness. Here, they are welcomed like family members.

Beyond Thuy Bieu, the journey to Ngu My Thanh (Dan Dien commune) opens up another world for tourists: the vast expanse of Tam Giang lagoon. Here, the people live entirely on fishing. Now, they are applying their generational experience to tourism: rowing boats, casting nets, paddleboarding, exploring the lagoon's ecosystem... so that tourists can experience the true essence of "living and understanding on the spot."

Mr. Ngo Chien, one of the first people to develop tourism in Ngu My Thanh, shared: "Previously, we lived off fishing; now, with the development of tourism, people have better incomes and opportunities to promote their hometown. Thanks to this, people are more concerned about maintaining environmental hygiene. They understand that tourism can only develop if the environment is preserved."

Developing green tourism

The trend of green tourism is growing. Accordingly, the "Net Zero Day Tour in Hue" – a tour implemented by iVietnam Travel – is a pioneering initiative. Participating in this tour, tourists must travel by bicycle or electric car; use glass bottles instead of plastic; and bring cloth bags instead of plastic bags. They paddle SUPs to collect trash on the Perfume River, eat a healthy diet, and plant mangrove trees in the lagoon area. iVietnam Travel's CEO, Ms. Ngo Hoang Nguyen Anh, explains: "Net Zero tours aim to minimize carbon emissions. We hope tourists will slow down and become more environmentally conscious. This is how tourism contributes to combating climate change."

However, community-based tourism in rural villages also faces many limitations: people lack vocational skills, infrastructure is rudimentary, products are not yet part of a chain, and there is a lack of unified processes. To overcome these difficulties, the city has included in its 2025-2030 plan to improve the quality of tourism services with the goal of: 100% of business owners receiving professional training, 80% of workers receiving skills training, and organizing training on communication, water safety, product development, etc., to shift from spontaneous to professional tourism practices.

According to the Director of the Department of Tourism, Ms. Tran Thi Hoai Tram, for sustainable community tourism, it is necessary to improve service quality, standardize products, have mechanisms to support businesses in green transformation, and invest in infrastructure for monitoring the tourism environment. Coordination between management agencies, businesses, and the community is a decisive factor for green tourism to develop in the right direction and become a long-term strength of Hue.

Text and photos: THU THUY

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/nong-dan-va-du-lich-xanh-160487.html