Developing tourism as a premise for building new rural areas

Tourists coming to Don village help local people have more jobs and income thanks to related services.

But village, Nam Xuan highland commune, has long been famous for its majestic mountain and forest scenery, and its people living in harmony with nature. When the old Quan Hoa district and Nam Xuan commune chose it as a place to develop community tourism , the infrastructure system here was invested in more strongly thanks to many sources of support. After being propagated, the villagers themselves were also aware of renovating the stilt houses, improving the landscape to be greener - cleaner - more beautiful. To be worthy of being a place to welcome visitors from near and far, infrastructure works, cultural houses, and traffic systems were invested in more strongly. Many local Thai people are still poor, but they are willing to donate land and sell bamboo to contribute with the State to solidify traffic routes according to the NTM criteria.

Through the gentle slope connecting to Highway 15C, But village appears extremely poetic. Previously, in the rainy season, the people and students here had a hard time traveling, having to climb over the red, slimy dirt slopes, their clothes covered in mud. But now, not only the main traffic route, but also the branch roads and alleys leading to people's houses are concreted as solidly as in the plains. Motorbikes circulate smoothly, occasionally we come across cars bringing groups of tourists to visit and experience.

According to But Ha Cong Chuc, the village has more than 100 households that have been encouraged to preserve traditional stilt houses, so most of the stilt houses here are still intact. Since 2020, the village has received support from the commune, district and related sectors to develop projects and develop community tourism. Currently, there are 3 families developing homestay resorts: Minh Huy, A Beo and Na Huong.

Not only guests, many groups of guests from neighboring communes and the old town of Hoi Xuan also regularly come here to order food and drink to enjoy the unique culinary flavors of the local people. From there, the activities of raising chickens, wild pigs, and slope fish of the local people have developed, helping the people have more income and change their thinking about commodity production.

Mr. Ha Van Xuan, who owns a fish pond and a forest garden economic model in the locality, shared: “Although located in a remote area, the grass carp and carp in my pond are continuously purchased, not only are they not unsold like before, but they are also not enough to sell. Thanks to tourism development, brocade and agricultural products of the villagers are easily consumed. The lives of local people are increasingly prosperous.”

Ban But has met the NTM standards. Investment in tourism has greatly supported the development of NTM criteria. Currently, the locality is making efforts to reach the finish line of a model NTM village in the highlands.

In Pu Luong commune, Don village is considered the center of community tourism development activities. Located in a valley surrounded by majestic limestone mountains, the road to Don village is even more winding. Therefore, in the process of completing the traffic criteria in the New Rural Development as well as serving tourism development, the village has built solid roads. Passenger cars have reached every alley to the stilt houses to take guests to the resort.

Every night, four art troupes consisting of women and mothers in the village wear traditional Thai costumes to perform at tourist service locations. Mr. Ha Van Luyen, owner of a homestay welcoming tourists in Don village, said: “Since community tourism began in the village, art troupes have been established. In addition to the teams in the village, we also connect the “artists” with nearly ten other art troupes in the Pu Luong area to perform. Since then, the art and culture movement in the community has developed strongly, preserving the cultural features of the local Thai people.” This is a favorable condition for Don village in particular and Pu Luong commune in general to maintain and develop cultural criteria in the New Rural Development.

160 households with more than 600 people in Don village are benefiting from rural tourism activities. 21 accommodation establishments, many of which are large with dozens of bungalows, are invested in, welcoming hundreds of guests every day. Thanks to that, people in the village have more jobs from services such as driving motorbike taxis to take visitors, cleaning rooms, cooking... The demand for food from accommodation establishments has helped local farmers promote commercial vegetable growing, raising Co Lung ducks, growing sticky rice...

Many villages in the province have developed rural tourism associated with new rural development quite effectively, such as Nang Cat village, Linh Son commune; Ngam village, Son Dien commune; Ma village, Thuong Xuan commune; Kho Muong village and Bang village, Pu Luong commune... Tourism contributes to the economic development of the people, they have more conditions to contribute to the development of local infrastructure, thereby promoting the completion of new rural criteria.

Article and photos: Le Dong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/phat-trien-du-lich-lam-tien-de-nbsp-xay-dung-nong-thon-moi-258745.htm