Cuisine - increasing the attractiveness of Binh Thuan tourism

Along with beautiful natural landscapes and unique cultural identities, culinary quintessence is becoming a “specialty” that attracts tourists. This is considered one of the main reasons for tourists to choose a destination and is the “bridge” that keeps tourists coming back.

Special and attractive cuisine

Recently, Thuy Vi (a tourist from Dong Nai) shared on social media: “This is my first time coming to Phu Quy. In addition to being impressed by the beautiful scenery, I was also attracted by the delicious food. Especially the “Phu Quy hot beef”. Although I have enjoyed beef in many places, I do not understand why the beef here is so delicious. I will return to this small island to continue enjoying the delicious food here”.

Not only Thuy Vi but many tourists are amazed and thrilled by the dish "Phu Quy hot beef". Many restaurant owners on the island have explained that: "Hot" in "Phu Quy hot beef" does not refer to the hotness of this dish but to the freshness of the beef on the island. "The beef on the island is firm, soft, sweet and fresh. Because the cows in Phu Quy are raised by grazing on grasslands, raised in the most natural way. Therefore, many tourists coming to Phu Quy cannot ignore this delicious dish", said a restaurant owner.

It can be said that cuisine is one of the factors that create attraction for tourists when choosing a destination. Mr. Phan Hoang Binh Son (a tourist from Tay Ninh) said: Anyone who travels is interested in learning quite carefully about information about the destination such as hotels, tourist attractions, entertainment venues, shopping venues... and in that, they prioritize choosing a destination with delicious food, even wanting to enjoy it to the fullest.

Traveling to Binh Thuan this time, Mr. Son was impressed when visiting, shopping and enjoying the cuisine at Phan Thiet market. He said: It was a weekend, so the atmosphere of buying and selling at the food stalls was bustling. “We visited the market and counted over 50 stalls with a variety of dishes, such as: Quang noodles, banh canh, bun thit nuong, banh xeo, banh can... Then there were snacks, such as: squid teeth, squid rolls, banh quai vat, che... Each dish was prepared in a different way, carrying the typical flavors of Phan Thiet. Although I couldn't enjoy all the dishes, I felt very excited,” said Mr. Son.

Binh Thuan's "Sardines spring rolls" dish also makes many tourists "miss" it. "When eaten, the herring has a very distinctive fatty and fragrant taste, crispy and served with raw vegetables, cucumber, green mango... with a dipping sauce that makes the "soul" of the whole dish: peanut fish sauce. It's so delicious that every time my family has the chance, they come to Binh Thuan to enjoy this dish," said Ms. Linh Lan (a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City).

Culinary tourism - a new direction

It can be said that cuisine for tourism is a particularly important “link” to complete a tourism product. A weak “link” will be a serious minus point or create an ugly “black mark” for the tourism brand.

Binh Thuan currently has 600 tourist accommodation establishments with a total of 17,658 rooms. At the same time, there are many restaurants and eateries from affordable to high-end in tourist areas and spots serving all types of tourists. This is one of the bases for the formation of culinary tourism products. Along with that, with the advantage of having a large fishing ground of about 52,000 km2, Binh Thuan is a locality with the largest fishing and aquaculture industry in the country. Therefore, Binh Thuan owns quite diverse coastal dishes from fish and seafood but still has its own unique characteristics, which cannot be confused with any other place.

The uniqueness of Binh Thuan cuisine has been recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization (VietKings) and the Vietnam Top Center (VietTop) in the Top 100 specialty dishes and Top 100 specialty gifts (2020-2021) for delicious dishes and unique products across the country with hotpot, Phan Thiet dried squid, fish sauce, dragon fruit wine, dried dragon fruit... And recently, Binh Thuan dragon fruit and Phan Thiet golden fish fish sauce were also announced by VietKings to be in the list of 9 Vietnamese dishes, groups of dishes and specialties of Vietnam that have been recognized as Asian records.

Grasping the above advantages, Binh Thuan tourism industry is further promoting the advantages of culinary culture to develop sustainable tourism. Accordingly, Binh Thuan has also increased promotion, connection to promote culinary tourism, forming and maintaining destinations with unique culinary experiences that are creating great attraction for domestic and international tourists.

In reality, no tourist would choose a bad dish that does not suit their taste repeatedly. Therefore, paying attention to the tastes, needs and feelings of customers is a prerequisite when building culinary tourism products. In particular, it is necessary to focus on ensuring food hygiene and safety to avoid food poisoning incidents, affecting the health of tourists, causing bad public opinion and negatively impacting the image and brand of tourism.

However, to do this professionally and systematically, there needs to be synchronous coordination between local authorities, the tourism industry, businesses, restaurants, hotels and the community. This is a new but effective direction, helping Binh Thuan preserve and promote indigenous culinary values, contributing to realizing the goal of developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector.

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