+ Recently, Vietnamese cuisine has been consistently ranked at the top of the charts. In your opinion, what factors have helped Vietnamese cuisine to be highly appreciated by the international community?
- We feel very proud when international press and global culinary organizations continuously praise Vietnamese cuisine. In 2012, at the prestigious MasterChef US competition, Christine Ha - a Vietnamese American won the championship with dishes imbued with Vietnamese culture, causing a big stir in the international culinary community. Or recently, Michelin - a prestigious title in the global culinary industry, honored 42 Vietnamese restaurants "with good quality dishes at affordable prices"...
The international community's appreciation of Vietnamese cuisine is a recognition of Vietnamese culture with its long history, demonstrating the efforts to promote Vietnamese culinary culture to the world, creating more motivation for us to continue to develop and improve further.
Deputy Director of the National Tourism Administration Pham Van Thuy. Photo: Tourism Administration
There are many factors that help Vietnamese cuisine to be highly appreciated by the international community. First of all, each dish has elegance and closeness to people, suitable for the natural characteristics of the tropical region. Next is the diversity and richness of ingredients, from vegetables, seafood, meat to typical spices. Through the delicate and skillful processing, the dishes still retain the natural flavor of the ingredients, creating the brand for Vietnamese cuisine.
In addition, the balance in dishes is not only about taste but also about nutrition, making Vietnamese dishes attractive and good for health. On the other hand, tourism promotion, including promoting culinary culture, contributes to spreading the charm of Vietnamese dishes.
+ In your opinion, what role does cuisine play in tourism development? What programs and strategies has the Vietnam National Tourism Administration implemented to promote Vietnamese cuisine to the world?
- Cuisine is not only a part of the travel experience but also an element that attracts tourists, because it creates opportunities to explore the national identity of a country. Through cuisine, tourists can better understand the history, customs and lifestyle of the Vietnamese people. On the other hand, tourism is not simply about visiting destinations but also creating unique and unforgettable experiences for tourists.
Nowadays, culinary tourism is becoming a trend and playing an increasingly important role, because tourism - cuisine - culture are 3 factors that always go together and complement each other to increase the value of the destination.
The Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030 has identified: Focusing on exploiting the diverse and unique culinary strengths of regions to form unique tourism products with competitive advantages, contributing to building a prominent brand for Vietnam tourism. Implementing the Strategy, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration has made cuisine the center of a number of tourism promotion and advertising campaigns; organizing the combination of cuisine with tourism programs; orienting the development of thematic culinary tourism products...
Jackfruit salad is simple but very delicately presented. Photo: Thanh Hoa
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has been and is continuing to coordinate efforts to promote Vietnamese specialties such as pho, bun cha, nem ran, banh mi... to international friends. The tourism industry, localities and businesses are developing many culinary tours to bring visitors profound and interesting experiences. In particular, Thua Thien Hue is one of the leading localities in exploiting culinary culture to serve tourism development. Hue is currently building a dossier to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a Creative City of Cuisine.
To promote the development of culinary tourism in the coming time, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism will continue to coordinate and guide localities and businesses to organize more culinary events, fairs and international festivals to introduce Vietnamese cuisine to global tourists; Encourage the development of specialized culinary tours with activities such as experiencing dishes, learning to cook, visiting craft villages and local markets; Coordinate the organization of training programs for restaurant, hotel and tourist destination staff on service skills and culinary knowledge; Increase the application of digital technology to promote Vietnamese cuisine...
+ According to you, what are the challenges and opportunities for Vietnam in developing culinary tourism?
- Culinary tourism is facing great opportunities but also many challenges. The biggest challenge is to preserve and promote the values of Vietnamese cuisine. Next is the connection between the tourism, agriculture, food industry... sectors is not really effective. Tourism infrastructure, including food courts, night markets, culinary tourism destinations have not received effective investment attention. In addition, countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore have rich culinary cultures and are investing heavily in culinary tourism, creating fierce competition...
However, we also see many opportunities. The interest and love of international tourists for Vietnamese cuisine with many unique dishes from North to South, creates a special attraction for international tourists. More and more international tourists are looking for culinary experiences, wanting to understand more deeply about culture and people through food. To take advantage of opportunities and overcome challenges, we need to improve service quality, to ensure the best experience for tourists; promote linkages and close cooperation between related industries to create attractive culinary tourism products; attract investment in developing tourism infrastructure, especially culinary areas, night markets and culinary attractions; organize the promotion of Vietnamese cuisine to global tourists...
+ To preserve and promote the traditional values of Vietnamese cuisine in the context of strong international integration and cultural exchange as today, what strategies are needed, sir? What do you think about the future of Vietnamese culinary tourism as well as development trends in this field?
- To preserve and promote the traditional values of Vietnamese cuisine to serve tourism development, it is necessary to first of all do a good job of preserving and promoting the value of culinary culture; carry out statistical work, systematize documents on cuisine, proper processing methods, ingredients, traditional spices for dishes from the Royal Court to rustic dishes, street dishes, regional specialties; issue policies to support the work of collecting, restoring, and forming typical culinary areas...
It is necessary to focus on training a team of artisans, chefs, and service staff to master the processing techniques and skills to inspire the cultural values of dishes. At the same time, encourage chefs to be creative and innovate traditional dishes without losing their identity, suitable for the needs of each tourist market; Proactively integrate with the quintessence of world culinary culture.
It is necessary to strengthen the combination of cuisine with tourism experiences and close coordination between stakeholders in developing culinary tourism products. Finally, it is necessary to focus on promotion and marketing to bring cuisine to the world through international events, festivals and seminars on Vietnamese cuisine; promote the exploitation of professional culinary tours with different characteristics of each locality...
Preserving and promoting the traditional values of cuisine in the context of international integration is a big challenge but also an opportunity for us to affirm the cultural identity of Vietnam. We believe that, with the tasks and solutions proposed and a reasonable development strategy, Vietnamese culinary tourism will not only preserve traditional values but also expand and develop strongly in the future, contributing to making Vietnamese culinary tourism an attractive destination on the world tourism map.
+ Thank you!
Hoai Duc (Implementation)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/pho-cuc-truong-cuc-du-lich-quoc-gia-pham-van-thuy-day-manh-lien-ket-dau-tu-ha-tang-de-du-lich-am-thuc-phat-trien-post309787.html
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