Quang Binh has the "Best Tourist Village in the World".

On the afternoon of October 19th, the Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee held a press conference to announce that Tan Hoa village, Tan Hoa commune, Minh Hoa district – the only village in Vietnam – has been honored by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as the "World's Best Tourist Village" in 2023.

Press conference announcing that Tan Hoa Village is the only village in Vietnam to be honored by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as the "World's Best Tourist Village" in 2023.

Yesterday (October 18), in Samarkand (Uzbekistan), the UNWTO officially announced Xinhua as the "World's Best Tourist Village" after evaluating 260 applications from 60 countries.

Vietnam had four tourism villages that submitted applications from the provinces of Quang Binh, Son La, Lai Chau , and Hoa Binh, but Tan Hoa (Quang Binh), with its "weather-adaptive tourism village" model, was the only one to be honored.

Tan Hoa village is considered the "flood epicenter" of Quang Binh province. In 2010, Tan Hoa witnessed a historic flood with water levels rising 12 meters, submerging most houses. Villagers had to evacuate to caves and cliffs for shelter while waiting for the water to recede.

A view of Tan Hoa village from above.

By 2011, the people of Tan Hoa had come up with the initiative to build floating rafts to live with the floods. In 2012, they improved it into a model of floating houses, allowing people to live normally during floods.

As of 2023, Tan Hoa had 620 floating houses built entirely from donations by philanthropists. Currently, Tan Hoa is also developing a model of tourism experience during the flood season.

Mr. Ho An Phong, Vice Chairman of the Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee, assessed that Tan Hoa being honored as the "Best Tourist Village in the World" in 2023 is an honor for Vietnam in general and Quang Binh in particular.

"This is a village that is both endearing, familiar, and yet remote, a valley surrounded on all sides by rocky mountains and endless stretches of vegetation. And it is the most 'vulnerable' village in Quang Binh when floods come. Despite these difficulties, Tan Hoa is blessed by nature with rare forests, beautiful caves, rustic and peaceful landscapes, and unique and distinctive local culture and cuisine. Being honored as the 'Best Tourist Village in the World' will open up a great opportunity to welcome a large number of tourists to Tan Hoa in the future," Mr. Phong shared.

Peaceful life in Tan Hoa village

The "World's Best Village Tourism Award" is a global initiative by the UNWTO to honor villages where tourism preserves and promotes community-based, rural values, products, and lifestyles, while fostering innovation and sustainability.

As of 2022, more than 70 villages from nearly 40 countries have been recognized by the UNWTO as "Best Tourism Villages". These villages exemplify rural tourism destinations that offer authentic and diverse experiences for visitors, while also creating opportunities and benefits for local people and the environment.

According to information from the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, after evaluating the application, UNWTO recognized the rich and outstanding cultural and natural resources of Tan Hoa village. In addition, the village's commitments and actions towards sustainable tourism development were also factors contributing to Tan Hoa's recognition.

Tan Hoa is oriented towards developing a tourism village model that adapts to the weather, providing diverse tourism experiences such as homestays.

Tan Hoa is oriented towards developing a tourism village model that adapts to the weather, providing diverse tourism experiences such as homestays.

The people of Tan Hoa have learned to run homestay businesses offering experiences of farming, dining in local homes, and selling souvenirs.

At the end of 2022, after conducting on-site visits to Tan Hoa, representatives from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (now the Vietnam National Tourism Administration) proposed that Tan Hoa participate in the UNWTO's "Best Tourist Village in the World" award.

Recognizing this as a good opportunity to promote Tan Hoa and the surrounding area, representatives from Oxalis Adventure Company collaborated with the Tan Hoa Commune People's Committee, the Minh Hoa District People's Committee, and the Quang Binh Provincial Department of Tourism to develop a plan to build a tourism village model according to UNWTO standards to participate in the competition.

"The fact that Tan Hoa has won this prestigious award is a solid foundation that will help the village move forward into the world, gradually becoming a key tourism center in the northwestern region of Quang Binh," said a representative of Oxalis Adventure.

A representative from Oxalis Adventure stated that Tan Hoa is oriented towards developing a tourism village model that adapts to the weather, providing diverse tourism experiences such as homestays, farming experiences, dining in local homes, and souvenir shops.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su/quang-binh-co-lang-du-lich-tot-nhat-the-gioi-20231019181458001.htm