Quang Nam is considered the "medicinal capital" of Vietnam, with Ngoc Linh ginseng, Morinda officinalis, Codonopsis pilosula, Tra My cinnamon and many other medicinal plants... This is the strength for the locality to research the type of tourism that is creating a trend in the world - medicinal tourism, medical tourism...
Nam Tra My is considered the capital of Ngoc Linh ginseng, but tourism has not been well exploited to generate income for local people.
Unable to connect to ginseng market
Recently, Nam Tra My piloted a community tourism service group at Tak Chuom cultural village (village 2, Tra Mai commune). Ms. Alang Thi Nhu Tien - in charge of this service group said that the members of the group are villagers who want to do tourism.
However, tourism activities in Tak Chuom did not achieve the expected results. Due to the lack of regular tourists, the source of income was interrupted, so some people withdrew from the group and switched to other jobs. Ms. Tien said that it is necessary to invest in infrastructure, build cultural spaces such as stilt houses, craft villages, recreate the landscape, link with monthly ginseng markets, annual ginseng festivals to attract tourists, and at the same time form a tour.
To develop tourism in an area with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions like Nam Tra My, a "push" is needed. Identifying the strengths in the medicinal herb area, especially the rare Ngoc Linh ginseng, this locality takes Ngoc Linh ginseng as a fulcrum, the majestic natural landscape along with the unique culture of ethnic minorities resonate together, creating a unique tourism value that only exists in Nam Tra My.
To develop tourism from Ngoc Linh ginseng, it is necessary to preserve and promote the values of this precious medicinal herb to visitors from near and far. The district has determined to develop the Ngoc Linh - Tak Ngo ginseng tourism area according to the model of community cultural tourism, medicinal herb tourism - Ngoc Linh ginseng.
Mr. Tran Duy Dung - Chairman of Nam Tra My District People's Committee
Gradually upgrade the annual ginseng festival and monthly ginseng market to create more opportunities for tourists to experience the culture and the land, in addition to buying and selling ginseng.
Mr. Tran Duy Dung added that he will gradually create opportunities to promote tourism and attract investment for the medicinal herbs and clean agriculture industries of Nam Tra My in particular and Quang Nam in general, demonstrating innovation in thinking and working methods in brand building, especially national product brands.
Resolution No. 13/NQ-TU dated July 20, 2021 of the Quang Nam Provincial Party Committee on developing trade and tourism in Quang Nam province until 2025, with a vision to 2030, also determined that the western region of the province will develop medical tourism from precious medicinal resources, especially Ngoc Linh ginseng. In May 2024, the Provincial People's Committee issued a plan to implement the Project on developing traditional medical services and products for tourists until 2030 in Quang Nam province, opening up many mechanisms and policies to attract the development of medicinal tourism, medical tourism, etc.
According to statistics from the People's Committee of Nam Tra My district, during the Ngoc Linh Ginseng Festival in 2024 (from August 1 to August 3), more than 5,000 people came to visit and shop with a revenue of about 7 billion VND, of which about 70 kg of Ngoc Linh ginseng was sold, earning more than 6 billion VND. After the COVID pandemic until now, the average annual revenue from tourism has brought the district 50 billion VND, attracting about 30,000 visitors to Nam Tra My per year.
Stories from the infrastructure
According to the orientation of Nam Tra My district, tourism to the ginseng region is a type of tourism that brings visitors to experience the life of the Ngoc Linh wilderness with the mysteries of nature, culture and people. The ginseng region is just an excuse to stimulate visitors to go deeper and explore, experience the life of the mountain people.
However, the journey of tourism development in Nam Tra My is still taking its first steps. For example, although Tra Cang commune has 5/32 rural tourism spots/areas/villages in Nam Tra My, the ability to do tourism is very difficult, even most of them do not have convenient traffic routes. Mr. Ngo Tan Lac - Chairman of Tra Cang Commune People's Committee said that the fundamental factor for tourism development is the available landscape, but the infrastructure and services to serve tourism are lacking, so there is no tourism fee collection activity.
Chairman of Nam Tra My District People's Committee Tran Duy Dung confided: "To bring tourism in the medicinal herbs and Ngoc Linh ginseng region to a higher level of development, Nam Tra My still has many difficulties and requires great efforts, because the district is too far away and traffic conditions are still limited. Narrow roads do not ensure the circulation of large tourist vehicles, this is the biggest bottleneck in attracting tourists to Nam Tra My.
Currently, the district has not yet attracted large enterprises to invest in tourism services to create a boost for community tourism development. To do tourism well, there must be infrastructure and resources, two things that Nam Tra My still lacks, although it has natural conditions and advantages. Therefore, in the coming time, to develop sustainable tourism, it is very necessary to pay attention and invest in transport infrastructure from central resources.
Attracting investment in medicinal tourism
At the Investment Promotion Conference on Quang Nam organized by the Provincial People's Committee in mid-July in Ho Chi Minh City, many guests, businesses and investors, were interested in the field of medicinal plant exploitation associated with tourism.
Mr. Vo Phu Nong - Director of BIMECA Import-Export - Medicinal Herbs Company said that tourism to medicinal herb regions is a trend in the world. Because more and more people with high economic conditions want to go to places that both relax and combine health recovery, instead of going to crowded tourist areas for entertainment.
Quang Nam has advantages in ginseng and cinnamon raw material areas. The land where these medicinal herbs grow has a fresh climate and good energy field.
“We once went to Nam Tra My to survey the location for investing in a medicinal plant conservation center associated with tourism. When the experts arrived, they were all surprised that Quang Nam has great potential for developing this field because everything is still quite wild, the people's awareness of forest protection is good, and tourists, especially Western tourists, will really like this environment,” said Mr. Nong.
In fact, although there has not been a tourist tour yet, in recent years, through the Ngoc Linh ginseng festival or the monthly Ngoc Linh ginseng market, tourists who want to learn about Ngoc Linh ginseng often come to Nam Tra My and go to the ginseng garden to experience it. At the International Ginseng, Spices and Medicinal Herbs Festival held in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of May, Quang Nam had more than 10 units participating in promoting Ngoc Linh ginseng, Morinda officinalis and Tra My cinnamon products. Many international investors and businesses have learned about Quang Nam through these medicinal herbs and committed to visiting the growing area in the near future.
A new direction in connecting experiential tourism and consumption of local agricultural products has just been opened, through the success of the A Rieu Chili Festival (Dong Giang district).
Spice up tourism with agricultural products
With the theme "Dong Giang agricultural products develop and integrate", the A Rieu Chili Festival opens up a new approach and consumption for local agricultural and forestry products through tourism.
Participating in the festival, in addition to sports, cultural and artistic activities imbued with the cultural identity of the mountainous region, visitors can also experience and enjoy OCOP products, local agricultural products, especially A Rieu chili. This is a spice that has become a part of the life of the Co Tu people in the Truong Son mountain range.
The highlands of Quang Nam possess many unique and valuable agricultural, forestry and medicinal products. However, in recent times, trade and consumption connections have been quite limited, mostly in raw and small-scale forms, not really becoming a commodity scale.
Mr. Le Tan Thanh Tung - Director of Vitraco Tour Da Nang acknowledged that the A Rieu Chili Festival, in addition to promoting and introducing local specialties, also opens a new direction for the story of consuming many types of agricultural and forestry products of the Dong Giang mountainous region. At the same time, it opens up a variety of gift products for visitors, contributing to improving the livelihoods and income of the people, and preserving biodiversity.
“The demand for purchasing local forest products and medicinal herbs as gifts and for use by tourists is almost everywhere and always available. Therefore, turning A Rieu chili products into a tourism event is very good and practical, suitable for the needs of people, businesses, and tourists, thereby creating a premise to connect supply and demand for consuming more types of agricultural and forestry products in the future through tourism” - Mr. Tung analyzed.
Vitraco Tour is a unit that regularly takes tourists to explore and experience destinations in the west of Quang Nam, including Dong Giang Heaven Gate Eco-tourism Area, so it understands the needs of tourists. This travel agency said that tourists always want to enjoy, experience, and buy agricultural products and medicinal herbs from the mountains. Some types of agricultural and forestry products and medicinal herbs such as upland rice, ginseng, wild bamboo shoots, wild bitter melon, honey, etc. are quite popular and chosen by many people.
Elevating local specialties
Stimulating mountain tourism associated with the consumption of agricultural products and craft villages is often focused on in many localities. At events, cultural festivals or tourism stimulus programs, some mountain products are introduced and sold, attracting the attention of businesses and consumers. These events also become distribution channels, promoting and supporting the development of trade and consumption of products of highland people.
With its unique location, landscape, and cultural space, tourism in the western mountainous region of Quang Nam has many factors to attract visitors. This is also a good opportunity for people and travel businesses to join hands in exporting agricultural, forestry, and craft products on the spot.
At Zara Co Tu Brocade Weaving Cooperative (Tabling Commune, Nam Giang), for over 12 years now, thousands of Co Tu brocade products have reached out to the world through tourism. This proves that the consumption of agricultural products, medicinal herbs, and craft villages in tourism activities is always effective and convenient.
According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Chuong - Vice Chairman of Nam Giang District People's Committee, the locality has always been proactive in promoting agricultural products and craft villages to improve livelihoods and increase income for people. In particular, organizing annual "highland markets" not only promotes, introduces and spreads mountainous agricultural products to people and tourists from near and far, but also hopes to form an event tourism destination.
“It must be admitted that since tourism has been established, some goods, agricultural products, and craft villages of Nam Giang such as honey, black pork, wild chili salt, etc., especially the weaving of Co Tu Za Ra brocade, have become more widely known. This is a premise for the locality to actively call for and connect with travel businesses to bring tourists to visit and buy products, creating income for the community,” Mr. Chuong shared.
Visitors to Tabhing commune, Nam Giang, besides a few visitors from Hanoi, most of the market comes from Japan and Europe. Visiting the village, in addition to experiencing the cuisine, customs, life, culture, activities of the people... buying and selling local goods and souvenirs are also of interest and love to visitors, contributing to creating jobs and increasing stable income for the people.
Consuming mountainous agricultural products through tourism activities, although considered appropriate and effective, also faces limitations because it depends on many factors such as product quality, quantity, farming and production customs of the people... because most of the production is spontaneous and small-scale, making it difficult to become a commodity.
Mr. Van Ba Son - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism affirmed that promoting mountainous tourism is one of the important goals in the tourism development strategy of Quang Nam. Besides exploiting the potential advantages of nature, landscape, indigenous culture..., it is very feasible to encourage the consumption of agricultural and forestry specialties, OCOP products, typical products, craft villages... in mountainous areas through on-site export activities from tourists. This is also in line with the province's policy in developing rural tourism in Quang Nam now and in the coming years.
Removing infrastructure barriers, focusing on preserving cultural values associated with tourism, and gradually changing the awareness of highland people are expected to be the key to the development of mountain tourism in the future.
Removing infrastructure barriers
Among the barriers to developing mountain tourism identified by the industry, the lack of synchronous investment in infrastructure is a matter of concern. The distance between tourist destinations is quite far, the roads are in many sections, the routes are damaged, degraded, narrow, and often affected by natural disasters, leading to difficulties in forming tours and affecting the experience of tourism. This is the reason why mountainous areas find it difficult to attract investors in the tourism sector.
To overcome this problem, in recent years, mountainous localities have made great efforts in linking infrastructure investment from resources of resolutions and national target programs with the work of stabilizing and arranging population, building new rural areas, etc. to support tourism development. In Nam Tra My district, the local government has focused on expanding DH10, creating convenience for large vehicles to move to the area where Ngoc Linh ginseng market is held; opening roads to the Tak Po cloud hunting tourist site, Tak Ngo ginseng garden, etc. At the same time, branch roads connecting Nam Tra My with neighboring provinces have been formed.
In the border district of Tay Giang, implementing the policy of developing community tourism associated with the cultural values of the Co Tu people, the local government focused on repairing and building 76 new communal houses in villages - communes - units - schools; 9 community activity houses to ensure multi-purpose services, including tourism activities. At the same time, planning and stabilizing 126 residential areas and ensuring 100% solidification of car roads to tourist destinations and pick-up points; developing homestay accommodation types at some tourist destinations, etc.
Along with the proactiveness and flexibility of localities, the development of synchronous infrastructure is a key task that the province is paying attention to. National Highway 14E, the Central Region connecting road, National Highway 40B, and bridge and DT routes are being focused on; the central government is recommended to pay attention and invest in the construction of National Highways 14G, 14D, etc. This is a premise to gradually synchronize the province's east-west infrastructure, "opening the way" for investors to come to the western mountainous region.
Take culture as the foundation
Some travel agencies and tourism operators believe that mountain tourism products associated with ethnic minorities in different localities do not have many differences. However, in reality, each ethnic group has its own cultural identity, from living and production habits to gong and traditional costumes.
Mr. Le Van Tuan - Vice Chairman of Bac Tra My District People's Committee said that each locality needs to promote the unique identity of each ethnic group to create unique, impressive and novel products for tourists and help tourism operators have more options in building tours.
Recently, the issuance and implementation of Project 6 "Preserving and promoting the fine traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities associated with tourism development" in the province for the period 2022 - 2025 is expected to open up many new opportunities for 7 highland districts.
The objective of this project is to restore, preserve and promote traditional cultural values, train and foster cultural staff; support cultural facilities and equipment for ethnic minority areas associated with community tourism development; contribute to job creation, increase income for people, improve the spiritual and material life of ethnic minority people in the province. At the same time, enhance pride and awareness of preserving and promoting the good traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities.
Project implementation funding comes from central and provincial budgets under the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2030 period and district and commune budgets; socialized capital, capital integrated from programs, projects, and mobilized capital.
From now until 2025, the project will focus on restoring and preserving a number of traditional festivals of ethnic minorities; building destinations, training the next generation of artisans; promoting and promoting tourism; supporting the restoration and construction of community cultural works, etc.
Currently, the project's implementing unit, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is actively coordinating with localities and related units to survey and implement 18 key contents. Within the framework of the project, many localities have begun to implement the teaching of gong culture, traditional dances, songs, weaving, brocade weaving; training to improve knowledge and skills in tourism for the community; expanding the scale of traditional rituals of ethnic minorities into festivals, etc. to attract the response and participation of the people. This is the basis for localities to take cultural tourism as a foundation to develop green tourism, creating sustainable livelihoods.
Promote and stimulate mountain tourism through sports activities organized in many places in Quang Nam. The exploratory grassroots tournaments attract many professional and semi-professional athletes from provinces and cities across the country.
Impressions of Dai Binh racetrack
The bicycle parade from Dai Binh village to the hot spring tourist spot in Son Vien commune, a distance of 28km, within the framework of the Dai Binh Culture - Tourism Festival 2024, attracted more than 500 cyclists from localities across the country. Not to mention, more than 1,000 fans also followed the racing groups back to their hometowns on the banks of the Thu River.
This is the third time Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vy (51 years old, Thanh Khe district, Da Nang), a member of Bac Son Cycling Club, has come to Nong Son to experience the beautiful roads. The first time in 2019, Mr. Vy participated in the cycling race from Dai Binh to Hon Kem Da Dung.
Then, in 2023, Nong Son land attracted him to ride a long distance from Da Nang city. “I participated in many grassroots competitions across the country, the farthest being in Binh Duong province. But wherever I go, I still like the race track in Quang Nam, especially Nong Son, in addition to the safe roads and sparse traffic, the scenery here is wonderful. Coming to this race track, athletes enjoy experiencing the journey more than the destination,” said Mr. Vy.
Mr. Tran Van Doan - Chairman of Trung Phuoc Town People's Committee said that in order to create a highlight to attract tourists and promote the image of the land and scenic spots at the Dai Binh Cultural - Tourism Festival, for many years, the locality has always attached sports activities to this event.
In 2022 - 2023, Trung Phuoc town organized a running race with 3 competition distances including: 7km amateur distance, 21km half marathon distance and 32km distance running along Thu Bon river from Dai Binh village to the Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area. These two races attracted athletes from provinces and cities across the country, with more than 800 athletes each time.
“The common point of all sports tournaments associated with tourism promotion activities here is that the souvenirs given to athletes are all medals made of agarwood, a typical item of Nong Son land. Athletes as well as tourists really like this item because it is quite special in their medal collection,” Mr. Doan added.
Back to K'lang
Faryl (American) decided to return to Abanh 1 village, Tr'Hy commune, Tay Giang district after participating in the K'lang Jungle Summit race on Christmas 2023. The unique route, diverse terrain and majestic scenery captivated Faryl's footsteps.
In 2023, the K'lang Jungle Summit was held at a distance of 18km, she and more than 150 other athletes crossed rocky streams, climbed steep slopes, overcame natural obstacles and immersed themselves in the cool air, moss covered ancient tree trunks in the primeval forest.
“In my memory at that time, the moss forest on the top of K'lang was like another world, all the fatigue disappeared when I touched the green moss and breathed in the fresh cold air. At that time, I almost forgot that I was an athlete participating in the race, only when the next person ran did I suddenly join the race. Because I didn't have time to experience the K'lang forest as well as other areas in Tay Giang, now, I come back and go to Aur village" - Ms. Faryl said.
Mr. Le Anh Chien - Head of the Organizing Committee of the K'lang Jungle Summit race and tours in Tay Giang - K'lang Adventure Investment, Trade and Tourism Development Joint Stock Company said that in 2022, the unit organized a race in Tay Giang called Tay Giang mountain marathon.
From 2023, the race was renamed K'lang Jungle Summit, and in 2024, in addition to the 18km distance, the race added 2 distances of 5km and 50km. K'lang Jungle Summit is considered one of the most beautiful and challenging trail races in the Central region when the race course passes through ancient pơmu and rhododendron forests.
“Ms. Faryl is one of many athletes who participated in the K'lang Jungle Summit and decided to return to Tay Giang to experience it. Combining sports activities with tourism is a current trend, especially successful in mountainous areas, because of the uniqueness and ruggedness that meets the athletes' desire to conquer,” Mr. Chien shared.
Developing mountain tourism through sports tournaments and events is proving the effectiveness of this unique method of stimulating tourism every day.
Content: THIEN TUNG - DIEM LE - PHAN VINH - VINH LOC - LE MY
Presented by: MINH TAO
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/du-lich-mien-nui-hanh-trinh-cung-san-vat-3140430.html
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