These days, across the country, a series of festivals have opened such as Sai Temple Festival (Thuy Lam Commune, Hanoi); Ba Chua Kho Temple's death anniversary (Bac Ninh) or Yen Tu Spring Festival 2024... attracting thousands of people and tourists to visit, offer gifts, and pray for luck.
Thanh Hoa and Ninh Binh tourism wins big
Mr. Pham Nguyen Hong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hoa province, said that the total number of tourists to Thanh Hoa in the first two months of 2024 is estimated at nearly 1.6 million (up 9.3% over the same period), with total revenue estimated at 1,500 billion VND. Of which, international visitors reached 16,000, with total revenue of 7.3 million USD.
Tourists to Lam Kinh (Thanh Hoa province) increased sharply in February 2024. Photo: THANH TUAN
According to Mr. Hong, the number of visitors to Thanh Hoa is highest in February 2024 (Lunar New Year) with about 1.3 million arrivals (an increase of 34.4% compared to the same month). "This year, the weather is favorable, localities organize many cultural - sports and tourism activities, so it attracts a large number of tourists at the beginning of the year. Attractive destinations include: Lam Kinh, Phu Na, Am Tien, Ho Dynasty Citadel, Thanh Hoa City..." - Mr. Hong informed.
In Ninh Binh province, in January and February 2024, the locality welcomed nearly 2.8 million visitors to visit and sightsee, an increase of 19.1% over the same period in 2023. Of which, there were 307,885 international visitors, 3.4 times higher than the same period in 2023. Estimated revenue reached VND 2,352 billion, an increase of 29.65% over the same period in 2023. "Ninh Binh province is in the top 5 most attractive destinations in the country after Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa; especially Ninh Binh ranks 2nd in the country in terms of the number of international visitors (after Da Nang City)" - Mr. Bui Van Manh, Director of the Department of Tourism of Ninh Binh province, informed.
This year, Ninh Binh province celebrates the 10th anniversary of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex being recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage, so the locality has planned to organize many activities from January to September 2024. To attract tourists, in addition to continuing to implement unique festivals and spiritual cultural activities, Thanh Hoa and Ninh Binh have also had plans to inspect and control the quality of tourism services at tourist areas and spots... promptly detect, correct and strictly handle violations.
Need a synchronous strategy to promote festival tourism
Dr. Duong Duc Minh, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Economic and Tourism Development Research, said that the prospects for developing festival tourism and spiritual tourism in Vietnam are very large, but to become unique tourism products with the criteria of "keeping visitors staying longer and spending more" requires many factors and synchronization.
When the festival season is taking place, there are too many visitors, accommodation facilities, food and beverage establishments, tourism service providers... often fall into a state of overload, creating prejudices about festivals. Many tourists are afraid to go out during the festival season or afraid to go to spiritual tourist destinations because they are afraid of being crowded, being ripped off, not being able to book a hotel... Therefore, "to improve the quality of festival tourism, spiritual tourism, it is necessary to have a methodical and synchronous strategy from calculating the service capacity of the destination with the festival; building a space associated with festival activities for tourists to immerse themselves in. The stages before, during and after the festival all have their own interesting and attractive features. For example, before the festival, visitors are excited to prepare; during the festival, there are sacred moments, bustling opening activities... If we know how to integrate core values, exploit the unique features that are different between festivals of each region, it will create attraction for tourists" - Dr. Duong Duc Minh said.
If the unique features of festivals can be exploited into tourism products, destinations will retain tourists to stay longer and spend more. Mr. Tran The Dung, Deputy Director of The He Tre Tourism Company, said that some localities have been successful in exploiting festivals, integrating cultural activities into tourism to generate revenue and be effective. However, most festivals are still simple in nature, not fully exploiting the "festival" part into the products provided to tourists.
"For example, if activities such as drawing and printing patterns on fabric to make clothes with beeswax in Hoa Binh; the Xoe dance of the Mong people in Lai Chau or the Cap Sac ceremony of the Dao people in Lai Chau... are recreated through regular activities of tourist areas, spots, and homestays for tourists to experience, this method will both retain visitors and increase the experience, instead of tourists just going to homestays and villages to rest and eat after sightseeing" - Mr. Tran The Dung said.
Dr. Duong Duc Minh said that it is necessary to synchronously develop facilities and infrastructure from accommodation facilities, tourist attractions, shopping, and then combine the unique features of the festival so that tourists can enjoy good services, have places to spend, shop... These are also necessary factors for festivals and events to become tourism products, because tourism is a comprehensive economic sector.
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