Ho Chi Minh City: Educational tourism - great development potential

Educational tourism is a type of tourism that plays an important role in helping tourists experience life, academics, science, and at the same time test their own knowledge.

Educational tourism or educational experience tourism is not a new type in the world as well as in Vietnam.

Many localities across the country have developed and exploited tourism products associated with education, learning about culture, history, ecology...

However, currently many educational tourism models have not yet fully exploited their potential and need to be built and invested in more systematically to achieve both academic factors, traditional education, cultural experiences as well as economic efficiency.

Meaningful type of tourism

Associate Professor Nguyen Duc Thang, General Secretary of the Vietnam Tourism Training Association, said that educational tourism is a type of tourism that plays an important role in helping tourists experience life, academics, science, and at the same time test their own knowledge.

Vietnam has many advantages to strongly develop this type of tourism because Vietnamese people are famous for their tradition of learning. Our country has a long history, has a community of ethnic groups living together, contains many cultural heritages, historical relics, famous people...; contributing very importantly to the formation of educational and learning tourism products.

A corner of the Hai Van Farm-Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary tourist destination. (Photo: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism)

From the reality of building and exploiting educational tourism products that many groups of tourists are students and students choose as their destination to experience, Ms. Doan Thi My Nhu, manager of Hai Van Farm - Vam Ho bird sanctuary (My Chanh Hoa commune, Vinh Long province) shared that in recent years in the Mekong Delta, Hai Van Farm - Vam Ho bird sanctuary located on the gentle Ba Lai river has become a destination, a space for sightseeing, tourism associated with education, experience, and relaxation to help visitors return to nature, practice life skills, environmental protection awareness and understand more about local culture.

Not only does the farm have a fresh natural landscape, suitable for learning and exploring nature, it also has many educational and experiential tourism activities that can be called "garden STEAM" (STEAM education is a concept that refers to teaching activities that combine art with science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects).

Accordingly, many educational tourism products are designed to suit the age of each group of students or according to the specific requirements of each school, but they all have in common the closeness to nature, stimulating creativity, learning about river ecosystems, orchards, and exploring the culture and history of the South.

Every year, Hai Van Farm - Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary welcomes more than 10,000 visitors; many of whom are students, university students, and researchers.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ca Mau province said that although not really diverse, the province has a number of educational tourism products, especially educational tourism with experiences about local culture and history.

The products not only help tourists to have pure entertainment but also to learn and experience, bringing knowledge and joy... For example, the tourist destination of the Southern Traditional Music and Musician Cao Van Lau Memorial Site in Bac Lieu ward attracts many tourists who are students, experts, and researchers following tourism programs built by educational institutions in collaboration with travel companies or self-organized to visit and experience.

Coming here, many visitors get acquainted for the first time with traditional musical instruments such as: Dan Day, Dan Tranh, Dan Nguyet, Dan Bau... In the traditional art space, visitors are guided to learn about the biography and contributions of musician Cao Van Lau - one of the predecessors who made famous the art of Southern amateur music.

Enhance the experience value

Students learn about artifacts related to the victory of the August Revolution. (Photo: Dinh Thuan/VNA)

Educational tourism helps the trip not only be entertaining and relaxing but also become an opportunity to learn and experience, helping participants perfect many skills, broaden their vision and knowledge.

However, besides educational tourism products that truly meet the desired quality and effectiveness, there are still products that do not meet the requirements of education, relaxation and safe experience.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, promoting educational tourism from historical and cultural relics is one of the solutions to create attractive products.

However, to truly attract tourists, localities need to diversify their experiences and tourism products; at the same time, combining visits to relics with cultural experiences, cuisine, and local community culture will create attractiveness for tourism products.

Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association Phung Quang Thang said that increasing experiential activities in educational tourism will contribute to creating motivation and excitement for tourists, stimulating curiosity to explore and expand knowledge.

Destinations can supplement real-life experiences with hands-on, interactive activities, games, storytelling, performing arts, and enjoying specialties...

Interactive activities between tourists and the community, scientists and experts will create opportunities for tourists to understand more deeply about the destination, ensuring that educational tourism products are truly attractive, and at the same time, can establish new relationships for future development.

Ms. Doan Thi My Nhu, manager of Hai Van Farm - Vam Ho bird sanctuary (My Chanh Hoa commune, Vinh Long province) informed that in order to enrich the experience for tourists, including tourists of educational tourism type, the farm continuously researches and innovates experience products from indigenous cultural values ​​such as: organizing more folk games, poetry reading contests, learning about famous works of writers and poets from Vinh Long hometown...

Along with that, businesses strengthen connections or introduce to organize bringing tourists to experience the farm and visit many historical and cultural relics, famous people... in Vinh Long province such as: Special national relic of Nguyen Dinh Chieu's tomb and memorial area, Dong Khoi Ben Tre special national relic, Memorial area of ​​female general Nguyen Thi Dinh, Tomb and temple of outstanding teacher Vo Truong Toan...

From the perspective of a tourist and a parent whose children have participated in a number of educational tours, Ms. Ha Tuong Vy (Hiep Binh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) confided that her family has children of middle school age. Therefore, she always encourages her children to participate in trips or picnics, sightseeing tours that are experiential in nature, learning about the history and culture of regions of the country.

According to Ms. Vy, these trips will help students understand the traditions and discover the beauty of their homeland and country. However, currently in some localities, there is still a situation where tourist destinations and sightseeing spots do not have enough capacity and facilities to serve special groups of visitors, large numbers of students, etc.

If all destinations ensure good supply of experiential products and essential services for tourists, educational and experiential tourism products will have a sustainable "position".

Source: www.vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/thanh-pho-ho-chi-minh-du-lich-giao-duc-nhieu-tiem-nang-phat-trien-20251111151422814.htm