Developing tours 'following in the footsteps' of President Ho Chi Minh

Meaningful tours

President Ho Chi Minh is one of the greatest figures of the era. He has become a symbol of revolutionary hero and a world cultural celebrity. For the Vietnamese people and friends around the world, President Ho Chi Minh is an outstanding leader, an outstanding communist soldier, a comrade, a beloved teacher, and a close friend. Admiring the great contributions to the nation, to humanity, and the noble moral example of President Ho Chi Minh, the people and friends around the world have praised him with the best words.

The journey of President Ho Chi Minh living, working and finding a way to save the country is of interest to tourists in Vietnam and internationally. To spread the footsteps of bringing peace and prosperity to the homeland and country, there have been many tours associated with Uncle Ho's journey.

As Hue has exploited tourism products associated with Uncle Ho's childhood. The ancient capital of Hue is considered the second homeland - a place that bears the mark of Uncle Ho's childhood. Here, President Ho Chi Minh and his family lived, worked, studied and participated in patriotic activities for a period of 10 years in two stages: 1895 - 1901 and 1906 - 1909. Therefore, Thua Thien Hue currently has about 20 relics and memorial sites of President Ho Chi Minh.

A number of relic systems commemorating President Ho Chi Minh in Thua Thien Hue (including 4 relics) have been ranked as Special National Monuments, including: Uncle Ho's Memorial House on Mai Thuc Loan Street; Quoc Hoc School, President Ho Chi Minh's childhood memorial house in Duong No village and Duong No village communal house in Hue city.

Currently, when coming to Hue, there are many tours to visit the memorial sites of President Ho Chi Minh combined with historical and cultural relics and tourism products in the localities; building programs to offer incense and flowers in memory of President Ho Chi Minh,...

In Nghe An, Uncle Ho's hometown, to celebrate the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2025), Nghe An province coordinated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Public Security and provinces and cities nationwide to organize the festival and inaugurate the "Uncle Ho visits his hometown" Monument. This year's festival program is elaborately built with many unique activities. Regarding the ceremony, there will be 3 activities including: Flower offering ceremony in front of Uncle Ho's Monument at Ho Chi Minh Square and parade to Uncle Ho's hometown; Flower offering and incense offering ceremony at Uncle Ho's Memorial House and Chung Son Temple; Ceremony to bring Uncle Ho's photo from Uncle Ho's Memorial House at Kim Lien Relic Site to Lang Sen Stadium. Regarding the festival, there are 13 cultural, sports and tourism activities with many highlight programs, especially the opening event of Lang Sen Festival and the inauguration of the "Uncle Ho visits his hometown" Monument. Afterwards, there will be a 15-minute fireworks display at Lang Sen Stadium.

During 30 years of searching for a way to save the country, President Ho Chi Minh traveled to many places. (Illustration photo - Source: Tre Publishing House)

Tourism activities about President Ho Chi Minh not only take place domestically, but also in cooperation with other countries. The Vietnam Tourism Industry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand organize a 5-day, 4-night tour to take tourists to places where Uncle Ho used to carry out revolutionary activities in Laos and Thailand. With the theme "Journey in Uncle Ho's footsteps", the 1,680km journey will take tourists to historical sites and experience the lives of people in Laos and Thailand. The tour helps tourists understand history and love more the lands that President Ho Chi Minh passed through.

Departing from Central Vietnam, visitors have the opportunity to pass through the ancient citadel of Quang Tri, Khe Sanh - Lang Vay, Lao Bao, the Dong village base area... These places were the scene of fierce battles of our people in the resistance war against the US, protecting national peace. Before setting foot in Laos, visitors can take photos at border marker No. 528 (Cha Lo border gate), which shows the close friendship between Vietnam and Laos. In addition to the places associated with Uncle Ho's revolutionary activities, "Journey in Uncle Ho's footsteps" also takes visitors to visit friendship works showing the close, strong relationship between the three countries such as the Laos - Thailand Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River, the Vietnam Memorial Clock Tower in Nakhon Phanom (Thailand) and the Thailand - Vietnam Friendship Village.

Creating connections and expanding tourism products associated with Uncle Ho's life

In fact, for the origin tours, tourists choose destinations that are closely associated with Vietnamese culture and history. As in the atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (1975 - 2025) recently, to spread strongly, creating great momentum for the tourism industry on the occasion of April 30 and May 1 this year. Travel companies have promoted origin tourism products, exploring historical sites to attract a large number of tourists.

For example, the Cu Chi “The Land of Steel and the City of Copper” tour has exploded in tourist numbers thanks to the effect of the film “Tunnels” broadcast on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country’s reunification. Tours such as “Saigon then and now”, “Saigon Special Forces”, “Legends of Heroes” have all had their content renewed, prices reduced, and invested heavily in tour guides - both historical storytellers and companions of tourists. Inner-city tours combining cuisine and cultural events have also created great attraction.

In 2025, Vietnam will welcome many important and meaningful anniversaries. This September marks the 80th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2024). The most recent is the 135th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh. These are all "great" occasions of the country, many tourists want to participate in meaningful tours, joining in the joyful and happy atmosphere of the country.

However, tours inspired by the life of President Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam are still small. Although the destinations are relatively diverse and rich, they need to be constantly renewed to attract young and international tourists. For example, it is necessary to link the destinations following the footsteps of President Ho Chi Minh together, forming a chain lasting many days, passing through many provinces and cities. In each place, tourists can both visit, explore, and listen to stories about President Ho Chi Minh and the history of the Vietnamese people during the long resistance war.

In addition, currently, there are many tours that focus on Vietnamese history such as Pac Bo tour, Lenin stream tour, Saigon Special Forces tour, Cu Chi and Quang Tri discovery tour, etc. Provinces and localities can continuously link historical and cultural tours of the country with President Ho Chi Minh's journey.

Tourists visit Pac Bo, Cao Bang - where President Ho Chi Minh directly led the Vietnamese revolution. (Source: Cao Bang Tourism Portal)

In addition, it is necessary to connect schools with travel agencies, provinces and localities to exploit tours "following in the footsteps" of President Ho Chi Minh. In the summer, students can rest and relax after a year of hard study. Most parents want their children to have useful trips and travel associated with valuable activities. However, many travel agencies said that tours organized for students currently only meet the needs of sightseeing and experience without high educational content. Some skill training centers also develop educational tours for parents to register for their children, but in essence, these units are not travel agencies so they cannot organize proper tours, and are not capable of connecting services to ensure the quality of the journey.

Currently, there are travel companies that offer skill, education, and career tours such as: A day as a farmer, A day as a doctor, Aspiration for life tour, etc. President Ho Chi Minh holds an important position in the lives of Vietnamese people, especially children, youth, and teenagers. Therefore, it is necessary to promote tours that combine sightseeing, entertainment, and learning about the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh to help children understand the country's history, love for their homeland, and the respected leader of the Vietnamese people.

Huong Ngoc

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/phat-trien-nhung-tour-du-lich-theo-buoc-chan-chu-cich-ho-chi-minh-post548695.html