There are currently over 180 accommodation establishments in the province, mainly concentrated in Phu Ly city and Duy Tien town. In recent years, the infrastructure system and technical facilities for tourism in Ha Nam have been continuously invested in, reaching international standards, not only serving the needs of domestic and international tourists but also being able to host many major events. However, in recent times, many accommodation establishments in the area have had low bed/room occupancy rates, and their business activities have not been really vibrant...
Geographic location is both an advantage and a disadvantage!
Ha Nam is known as the gateway to the capital Hanoi - a famous tourist city, attracting tourists like few other places. However, being close to Hanoi is both an advantage and a limitation. If Ha Nam does not have attractive products and adequate infrastructure, tourists can only take a day tour and then go to other localities.
According to Mr. Doan Van Viet, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism: “Ha Nam's infrastructure and technical facilities for tourism are constantly being invested in at international scale, such as Tam Chuc tourist area; 12 recognized tourist areas and spots in the area, Kim Bang golf course, Tuong Linh golf course and many tourist attractions are being invested in and exploited; along with a system of more than 200 accommodation establishments and restaurants, diverse shopping areas... not only meeting the needs of domestic and international tourists but also capable of hosting large-scale international events...
Ha Nam tourism products and services have been increasingly improved in terms of quality, diversity and richness with many new attractive and unique product lines such as cultural - spiritual tourism, MICE tourism, golf tourism... attracting domestic and foreign tourists." In the first 6 months of 2023 alone, the total number of tourists to Ha Nam is estimated at over 3.4 million, including 78,000 international visitors. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of visitors to Ha Nam nearly doubled, tourism revenue reached over 2,700 billion VND, an increase of over 200%. Revenue from accommodation and catering services reached over 1,500 billion VND.
However, tourism activities in Ha Nam seem to be bustling only in the first 6 months of the year. Because, starting from July onwards, accommodation establishments in the area have become really deserted. Revenue from accommodation and food services in the province in July reached only over 237 billion VND, in August it reached over 234 billion VND. It is very clear that the number of overnight guests at accommodation establishments in the area is not much.
According to the Tourism Department, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Nam, the average room occupancy rate at accommodation establishments in the past time did not reach 50%. Even during the recent September 2nd holiday, the room occupancy rate was only 50-60%. Mr. Hoang Minh Tan, Vice President of Ha Nam Tourism Association shared: At this time, Hanoi is an attractive place for tourists because autumn has come, the scenery here is very attractive. Moreover, the capital's tourism services are extremely rich and diverse, so tourists stay longer. As for us, tourists only stop to eat or visit quickly but do not really have the need to stay for a long time. Many groups of tourists come and go to Ninh Binh, or go deeper to relax, experience other tourism products besides spiritual and cultural tourism like Ha Nam.
Need to develop night tourism economy…
As an experienced person in the field of tourism in Vietnam today, Mr. Pham Van Bay, Deputy Director of Vietravel Hanoi branch once shared: One of the limitations that has not helped Ha Nam tourism develop is the infrastructure and accommodation services. In addition, Ha Nam needs to build impressive tourism products. The province needs to determine which are the unique products, showing the unique features of local tourism and have the right investment to truly bring the experience of the product to tourists. When mentioning Ha Nam tourism, there needs to be a group of tourism products that create a strong and outstanding impression in the perception of tourists, especially international tourists."
What to do to attract and entice tourists to Ha Nam, "to stay overnight", Mr. Pham Van Bay said: Ha Nam has come to pay attention to night tourism. He said: "Night tourism economy is still a problem for the provinces. The spending needs of tourists at night account for about 70% of the spending in the entire journey. However, most of these tourism products and services have not met the needs of customers."
According to tourism experts, night-time economic tourism needs to focus on two product groups: products related to entertainment and products related to cultural and artistic programs. While the product group related to entertainment has been exploited, the second group, cultural and artistic programs, needs more investment to truly become a unique night-time tourism product. Ha Nam should have quality art programs and night shows with cultural depth, because culture is the soul of tourism products and the difference that tourists always aim for.
According to Mr. Pham Van Bay, Deputy Director of Vietravel Hanoi branch, Phu Ly city has a walking street, but there are not many visitors, mainly local visitors. We need to be persistent, and will have to invest more in cultural - artistic and culinary elements to attract and retain overnight visitors to the city, instead of tourists having to go to Hanoi or Ninh Binh. For Ha Nam tourism to have better and sustainable results, the province needs to have its own policies for the tourism industry related to land, finance, electricity, water, and be flexible in security and order policies to support night-time economic activities.
Jiangnan
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