Developing a model of cultural tourism of the Tho ethnic group in Nghe An to preserve indigenous culture and knowledge

Nghia Dan is a midland mountainous district located in the North of Nghe An province, with ethnic minorities accounting for 30.13%, of which the Tho ethnic group accounts for 18.21%. The Tho people have settled and lived for a long time in the communes of Nghia Loi, Nghia Lac, Nghia Tho and still preserve many indigenous knowledge with potential for tourism development such as folk medicine, cuisine , traditional crafts, folk songs and dances...

Faced with that reality, the Center for Social Sciences and Humanities under the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An province has chosen Nghia Loi commune to build a model of Tho ethnic cultural tourism to exploit the indigenous cultural values ​​of Tho ethnic people in tourism activities. Building the first tourist destination of Tho Nghe An in the Western Nghe An tourism system.

Coming to Nghia Loi commune, visitors can experience the cultural space, the traditional hammock weaving profession; enjoy folk songs, folk dances and specialties of the Tho people...

Cultural exchange with Tho people in Nghia Loi commune, Nghia Dan district. Photo: Internet.

Identifying economic development associated with cultural preservation and tourism development is a suitable direction for sustainable development of mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas. On December 14, the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An province organized a workshop on "Evaluation of the Tho ethnic cultural tourism model contributing to the socio-economic development of Nghia Dan district" in Nghia Dan district.

Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tu, Director of the Center for Science, Society and Humanities, Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An, said that the Tho ethnic group in Western Nghe An still preserves a lot of indigenous knowledge with potential for tourism development but has not been exploited.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tu, Director of the Center for Science, Society and Humanities, Nghe An Department of Science and Technology, delivered the opening speech at the workshop. Photo: Lan Phuong

In 2023, Nghe An Department of Science and Technology will develop a cultural tourism model for the Tho ethnic group in Nghia Dan district to preserve and develop cultural activities and tourism products of the Tho ethnic group. The workshop is an opportunity for researchers, tourism lecturers, travel and tourism companies to express their opinions, connect and support people to complete tourism product packages.

At the workshop, Dr. Le Thi Hieu, Center for Science, Society and Humanities, Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An, said that the location chosen to build the model is Nghia Loi commune, Nghia Dan district, where the majority of Tho people live. The model focuses on raising community awareness and tourism skills in folk song and dance knowledge; exploiting the hammock weaving profession using hemp of Tho people; using folk remedies for tourists to experience...

The delegates pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating the cultural elements of the Tho ethnic group in Nghia Loi commune into the community tourism model. Many opinions shared orientations and solutions to enrich the Tho ethnic community tourism model and attract more tourists to visit.

Mr. Le Thai Hung, Vice Chairman of Nghia Dan District People's Committee, emphasized that the district always pays attention to the work of preserving the culture and traditional indigenous knowledge of the Tho people and always agrees, supports, and directs the Department of Economic Infrastructure and the Department of Culture and Information to accompany in building and implementing activities to develop this community cultural tourism development model.

Economic development associated with cultural preservation and tourism development is a suitable direction for sustainable development of mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas. Improving propaganda work, improving infrastructure, training people to improve service quality, having good communication and promotion methods... will help the Tho ethnic cultural tourism model develop to bring the most sustainable economic development benefits to indigenous residents. Many opinions at the workshop mentioned the need to preserve the Tho ethnic cultural space, typical cultural values ​​such as housing architecture, musical identity, cuisine and indigenous knowledge to exploit and develop community tourism. Pay attention to training and improving the quality of the workforce, aiming for professionalism; proactively connect and communicate, promote to attract tourists.

Opinions also emphasized that, to successfully implement the tourism model associated with the cultural identity of the Tho ethnic group, it is necessary to have the participation of local authorities and the consensus and solidarity of people in developing community tourism; correctly identify target customers for reasonable service; unify planning on destinations and typical tourism products; link inter-commune and inter-district destinations, creating tours with diverse and attractive products and services./.

Yanjiang