Phu Tho, the cradle of the Vietnamese nation, currently preserves a priceless treasure trove of cultural heritage. Of the nearly 260 festivals held annually, almost 150 take place in January. Recognizing this as a "golden opportunity" for tourism in the ancestral land to capitalize on its strengths in spiritual and cultural tourism, this year, with a diverse range of cultural and tourism events and activities, along with thorough preparation of both infrastructure and human resources at tourist attractions and experiences, Phu Tho promises to be a vibrant destination for tourists, especially during the upcoming 9-day Lunar New Year holiday in 2025.
The Hung Temple historical site (Viet Tri City) is a popular destination attracting many tourists and pilgrims during the Lunar New Year.
Attractive tourism "resources"
Phu Tho – a land preserving many traditional cultural values with hundreds of typical festivals, closely associated with spiritual elements, especially the Hung Kings worship. Festival spaces are spread throughout the province, but mainly concentrated in the spring (especially during and after the Lunar New Year until the end of January) with the meaning of praying for a happy, prosperous, and joyful new year. Taking advantage of this, in recent years, spiritual and cultural tourism has become a prominent type of tourism, attracting tourists to the ancestral land at the beginning of the new year.
Many products and tours focusing on the Lunar New Year in the ancestral land, such as: the Au Co Mother Temple tour (Ha Hoa district) - Hung Temple - Hung Lo ancient village and communal house (Viet Tri city); Hung Temple - Hung Lo ancient village and communal house - Thanh Thuy hot spring resort - Lang Suong Temple (Thanh Thuy district); Hung Temple - Hung Lo ancient village and communal house - Au Co Mother Temple - Ao Chau Lake (Ha Hoa district) - Doan Hung pomelo garden (Doan Hung district)... have been developed and effectively maintained by the provincial tourism industry in coordination with tourism promotion centers and travel agencies during and after the Lunar New Year, attracting a large number of tourists.
According to information from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon 2024, Phu Tho welcomed nearly 565,000 tourists and people from within and outside the province to visit tourist areas and attractions in the area. Of these, an estimated 11,180 guests stayed overnight, with an average occupancy rate of approximately 45%; tourism service revenue was estimated at 121.8 billion VND.
Recognizing that the Lunar New Year holiday is a time when the demand for spring travel, sightseeing, pilgrimage, and relaxation increases, districts, cities, and towns in the province have early announced the schedule of cultural, sports , and tourism events (especially traditional folk cultural, recreational, and entertainment activities that are in line with the civilized lifestyle, customs, and fine cultural traditions of the nation) during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Snake; tourist resorts and destinations have also implemented a variety of unique products and services to serve people and tourists during the spring holiday.
The New Year's Eve celebrations in Viet Tri City and the spring cultural and festival programs in the districts and towns, as well as spring travel and resort services at tourist areas and destinations, have attracted considerable attention from visitors. Notable examples include: the Au Co Mother Temple Festival (Hien Luong commune, Ha Hoa district) held on the 6th and 7th of the first lunar month; the "Ancient Village Xoan Singing" program for tourists at Lai Len Temple, Thet Temple (Kim Duc commune), An Thai Temple (Phuong Lau commune), and Hung Lo Temple (Hung Lo commune) in Viet Tri City; experiencing the spring fair, making banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), receiving calligraphy blessings from calligraphers, and playing folk games (from the 2nd to 4th of the first lunar month) at Vuon Vua Resort & Villas Phu Tho (Thanh Thuy district); experiencing resort services, visiting the Golden Pagoda, and writing wish cards for peace and good fortune at the beginning of the year at Wyndham Lynn Times Thanh Thuy (Thanh Thuy district);...
Mr. Nguyen Van Tuyen, Director of Hung Vuong Group Joint Stock Company (Viet Tri City), said: For many years, the company has closely followed the Lunar New Year program and festivals organized in January in the province to develop and create Spring Festival tours to serve domestic and international tourists, allowing them to experience the joyful atmosphere of the traditional New Year with the people of Phu Tho province. These tours offer diverse activities such as: visiting historical and cultural sites; experiencing and checking in at cultural village festivals; relaxing during the Spring Festival; and traveling across provinces during the Spring Festival. According to the company's customer survey, the majority of tourists participating in tours during and after the Lunar New Year holiday are domestic tourists. With the diversity of cultural, spiritual, and resort tourism products, the tourism market during the Lunar New Year and January festivals has been creating momentum to stimulate tourism demand and boost the vibrancy of Spring Festival tour products in Phu Tho.
The Au Co Mother Goddess Temple historical site (Ha Hoa district) is urgently completing landscaping and environmental improvements ahead of the Au Co Mother Goddess Temple Festival in the year of the Snake 2025.
Preparation efforts
This year, the early announcement of the 9-day Lunar New Year holiday not only provides tourists with more travel options but also gives localities, cultural and tourist areas, and travel businesses in the province time to develop plans, prepare facilities, personnel, and services to distribute tourist traffic, reducing pressure on transportation and tour guides during peak days.
To ensure that all preparations are carried out synchronously and effectively, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued directives and guidelines to localities, management boards of tourist areas and attractions, and tourism businesses to develop plans and proactively prepare the necessary conditions to serve tourists.
Specifically, it emphasizes that localities need to strengthen state management and destination management; regularly organize inspections and control of the quality of tourism services at tourist accommodation establishments, tourist areas and sites, restaurants, entertainment facilities, passenger transport businesses, and tour guide activities; implement measures to ensure security and safety for tourists; coordinate with functional agencies to control, detect, prevent, and resolutely and promptly handle violations of the law affecting tourism activities.
As the first locality to host the Spring Festival events in the province, Ha Hoa district has announced early the attractive cultural events within the framework of the Au Co Mother Goddess Temple Festival, which runs from the 25th day of the 12th lunar month of the Year of the Dragon to the 7th day of the 1st lunar month of the Year of the Snake, such as: the incense offering ceremony to Ancestor Mother Au Co (25th day of the 12th lunar month of the Year of the Dragon); the opening ceremony of the Au Co Mother Goddess Temple Festival and the making and cooking of banh chung (rice cakes) and pounding of banh giay (rice cakes) (6th day of the 1st lunar month of the Year of the Snake); the incense offering ceremony on the day of the Immortal's Descent (7th day of the 1st lunar month)... so that travel agencies, the people, and tourists can be informed in time.
Comrade Nguyen Hong Thao, Head of the Culture and Information Department of Ha Hoa District, said: This year, Ha Hoa District expects to welcome over 3,500 tourists to celebrate the Spring Festival. Currently, all work on beautifying the landscape, environment, and decorations at the Au Co Mother Goddess Temple historical site; ensuring security and order, traffic safety; food safety and hygiene; and accommodation services at destinations throughout the district are being urgently completed.
The province currently has over 300 accommodation establishments, including 32 hotels with 892 rooms. To ensure the accommodation of tourists during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Snake 2025, the People's Committees of districts and cities in the province are actively directing hotels, resorts, homestays, etc., to strictly comply with regulations on fire safety, allocate sufficient personnel and other conditions to serve tourists thoughtfully, and ensure food safety and hygiene. With these efforts in preparation, the Spring - Lunar New Year 2025 tourism activities in the province promise to contribute to creating a beautiful image and attractiveness of cultural and spiritual tourism products, making Phu Tho an attractive destination rich in identity for tourists from all over the country.
Bich Ngoc
Source: https://baophutho.vn/san-sang-don-khach-du-lich-227089.htm
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