Developing rural tourism in the central region

Lesson 1: Success from different values

Rural areas in the central region possess a variety of unique cultural and natural heritages with many distinctive values ​​that are different from urban areas. These are valuable resources that provide different experiential values, contributing to attracting tourists to rural areas and positively contributing to socio -economic development.

However, most rural tourism models are small-scale, located in remote areas; transport infrastructure, investment resources, human resources; application of information technology and market connectivity... are still limited and not synchronized; conditions to attract, serve and "retain" tourists are not guaranteed.

Turn potential into tourism products

Immediately after the issuance of Decision No. 922/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated August 2, 2022 approving the Rural Tourism Development Program in New Rural Construction for the 2021-2025 period, localities in the central region quickly issued implementation plans, considering rural tourism development as one of the key solutions and tasks.

Many localities such as Quang Binh, Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa... have exploited their strengths well, developing a diverse system of rural tourism destinations with many high-quality, unique and attractive tourism products. In particular, many tourist villages have been recognized according to ASEAN criteria. Tan Hoa Village (Quang Binh) and Tra Que Vegetable Village (Quang Nam) were honored as the Best Tourist Villages by the United Nations Tourism Organization. Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province Nguyen Thanh Hong said that Quang Nam owns more than 460 historical-cultural relics and scenic spots; of which, more than 300 relics are in rural areas.

With 128 rural agricultural tourism spots distributed in most localities across the province, tourism activities associated with rural agriculture in Quang Nam province have attracted about 1,000 households to participate, with more than 3,000 direct workers and 3,500 indirect workers. Revenue from community tourism in 2024 will reach more than 150 billion VND, which is an additional income from rural agriculture for people participating in tourism activities.

It is estimated that more than 30% of visitors to Quang Nam experience agricultural and rural tourism products. A typical example is the tourist destination of Bay Mau Coconut Forest in Cam Thanh (Hoi An), attracting more than 1 million visitors in 2024, with revenue from ticket sales of 30 billion VND, the proportion of laborers in the tourism service industry of Cam Thanh commune people accounts for more than 65%.

Tra Que Vegetable Village will welcome more than 34,000 visitors in 2024, an increase of 36% compared to 2023 (nearly 6 times higher than in 2022); revenue from entrance tickets will be more than VND 1,215 million, an increase of 36% compared to 2023.

From poor area to tourist village

The Rao Nan River originates from the mountainous area bordering Vietnam-Laos, flows underground for about 3km into Ruc Cave, Trung Hoa Commune, then flows to Tan Hoa Village, Tan Hoa Commune, Minh Hoa District (Quang Binh). During the rainy season, upstream water flows to Tan Hoa Commune.

To exploit the tourism potential of Tan Hoa commune, in 2014, Chua Me Dat Company (Oxalis) launched adventure tours to explore the Tu Lan cave system. And since then, the Tan Hoa floodplain has been named on the Quang Binh tourism map. In November 2022, Oxalis coordinated with the Department of Tourism (now the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism) of Quang Binh and local authorities to implement a project to develop Tan Hoa into a community tourism village operated by the people themselves, with homestay models, restaurants serving local dishes and tours to visit the cultural beauty of the community.

Chairman of Tan Hoa Commune People's Committee Truong Thanh Duyen said that rural tourism activities have fundamentally changed the awareness and occupation of the people. From a place where people mainly lived on agricultural production, now they know how to do community tourism by welcoming guests at home, from accommodation to serving food and drinks using local products.

Mr. Truong Anh Hung, owner of Hung Lien homestay, said: “Since the tourism activities have been launched, we are very happy to welcome and serve tourists every day. I hope more tourists will come here to experience the beauty and uniqueness of Tan Hoa village.”

According to Oxalis representative, up to now, the enterprise has created stable jobs for 120 local workers through tourism activities, with an average income of 6 to 8 million VND/person/month. Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Binh province Dang Dong Ha acknowledged that tourism has changed Tan Hoa, helping people understand that only by protecting forest resources, protecting the environment and contributing to the fight against climate change can we prevent and mitigate natural disasters and floods.

In October 2023, Tan Hoa Village was honored by the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) as the best tourist village in the world.

Along with Tan Hoa Village, Tra Que Vegetable Village, located in the buffer zone of Hoi An ancient town (Quang Nam), has been recognized by UN Tourism as the Best Tourist Village (2024).

Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee Nguyen Van Son said that in 2001, Hoi An planned Tra Que Vegetable Village into a specialized vegetable growing area. Two years later, the city officially launched a Tra Que Vegetable Village tour with many attractive activities. By 2019, the city issued a decision approving the community tourism development plan in Tra Que Vegetable Village (Cam Ha commune) and by April 2022, the Folk Knowledge and Traditional Crafts of Tra Que Vegetable Growing were announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Tra Que vegetable village currently has more than 200 households participating in cultivation, 23 accommodation establishments, 16 restaurants and many other types of additional services providing employment opportunities for more than 320 people, with an average income per capita estimated at nearly 60 million VND/person/year. In addition, people participate in tourism service activities such as: Serving tourists to experience being vegetable farmers, organizing homestays for tourists, organizing home cooking services for guests to enjoy local cuisine, selling local products to tourists, organizing green tours, production experience tours...

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phat-trien-du-lich-nong-thon-khu-vuc-mien-trung-post881430.html