Building culturally rich destinations.

Developing culturally rich destinations is a sound strategy, in line with current sustainable tourism trends, because this approach not only rationally and effectively utilizes heritage but also contributes to preserving cultural values ​​and enhancing the local tourism brand.

Lam Kinh National Special Historical Site - an attractive destination for tourists.

Throughout its long history of national struggle for independence and defense, Thanh Hoa is known as a land of "spiritual and talented people"—a place with a rich and diverse system of historical and cultural relics stretching from the coast to the plains and mountains. This is an invaluable resource for the province to develop heritage tourism and cultural-spiritual tourism, contributing to the preservation of cultural identity while also attracting tourists. In fact, in recent years, many key historical and cultural relics of the province, such as the Lam Kinh National Special Relic Site (Lam Son commune) and the Ho Dynasty Citadel World Heritage Site (Tay Do commune), have attracted a large number of tourists thanks to the attention given to restoration and preservation, along with the exploitation of the local and surrounding cultural depth.

Speaking on this issue, Nguyen Ba Linh, Director of the Management Board of Ho Citadel Heritage and Key Relics of the province, affirmed: “ Tourism is not just about exploiting resources at each destination, but must be linked to preserving and promoting cultural values. Therefore, for many years, at the Lam Kinh National Special Relic Site and the Ho Citadel World Heritage Site, we have strived to revive the heritage treasure through creative thinking, applying technology in promoting and preserving heritage; at the same time, exploiting additional local cultural resources to form distinctive tourism products that can strongly spread and attract tourists both domestically and internationally.”

Thanks to the exploitation of this cultural heritage, visitors to the Ho Dynasty Citadel World Heritage Site can now not only admire and learn about the unique and large-scale stone architecture, a rare sight in Vietnam, but also explore and experience the heritage space with its deep cultural layers of the local people. Notable among these are the electric tram tours connecting the Ho Dynasty Citadel with the surrounding area, starting from the supplementary relic exhibition house to Binh Khuong Temple and the ancient house of Mr. Pham Ngoc Tung's family; or the tour exploring the spiritual culture of the buffer zone along the Ma River, starting from the supplementary relic exhibition house - Binh Khuong Temple - Linh Giang Pagoda - Giang Pagoda. At each destination, visitors will hear very authentic and vivid stories about the lives of the local people and the history of the relics; and simultaneously experience new and attractive tourism products. This is precisely what has made Ho Dynasty Citadel so attractive to tourists over the years.

In reality, the tourism market is undergoing a significant shift as tourists are no longer simply seeking resorts and sightseeing destinations, but are increasingly prioritizing in-depth experiences connected to community life and traditional cultural values. Following this general trend, in recent years, the Cam Luong Sacred Fish Stream Tourist Area (Cam Tu commune) has focused on developing tourism linked to the preservation of the cultural identity of the Muong ethnic group living in the surrounding area.

Sharing his thoughts on this matter, the Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Cam Tu Commune, Phung The Tai, affirmed: "Cam Tu is a locality blessed by nature with incredibly rich resources, including the Cam Luong sacred fish stream and unique historical and cultural relics of great value, along with a unique heritage system of the Muong ethnic group such as customs, traditions, folk games, traditional festivals, folk songs, folk dances... With such a rich cultural depth measured by this dense heritage system, heritage tourism has become one of the outstanding strengths of the locality. Therefore, the commune has encouraged the Muong ethnic people to preserve and protect traditional cultural values ​​to serve tourism development; establishing art and gong clubs to perform at the Cam Luong Sacred Fish Stream Tourist Area to increase its attractiveness to tourists. In addition, the commune also organizes the Cam Luong Sacred Fish Stream opening festival on the 8th day of the first lunar month every year to attract tourists to the locality."

With its rich and unique system of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the province's tourism industry has consistently identified cultural heritage as the foundation and crucial pillar for tourism economic development over the years. Therefore, provincial authorities and departments have focused on organizing numerous cultural and sports events and festivals to enhance the quality of experiential tourism products and meet the increasingly high demands of the tourist market. Simultaneously, attention has been paid to developing cultural tourism products based on exploiting the inherent natural value of cultural heritage sites, such as tourism focused on learning about and experiencing traditional culture, community cultural life, festival tourism, culinary tourism, and spiritual tourism. Alongside this, efforts have been made to restore and preserve historical sites; conserve and reconstruct intangible cultural heritage; and prioritize the development of transportation infrastructure and tourism services.

However, according to tourism experts, transforming heritage into a "soft power" for tourism development in many localities, tourist areas, and destinations within the province still faces numerous difficulties and challenges, especially the "duplication" of cultural tourism products or the need to innovate existing tourism products. This reality necessitates more strategic and comprehensive solutions for the province's tourism industry.

Text and photos: Nguyen Dat

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/xay-dung-diem-den-co-chieu-sau-van-hoa-277836.htm