Rural and agricultural tourism waiting for the opportunity to 'take off'
Báo Tin Tức•27/11/2024
Agricultural and rural tourism has not yet received proper investment to develop commensurate with its potential and is still waiting for the right opportunity and policy to "take off".
Tourists experience catching clams in the alluvial area of Mui Ca Mau. Photo: Kim Ha/VNA
Rural and agricultural tourism includes activities revolving around agriculture, farmers and rural landscapes. This type of tourism provides comprehensive, attractive, entertaining and educational experiences and is a popular trend. This type of tourism has appeared in Vietnam. However, rural and agricultural tourism models have not yet been properly invested in to develop commensurate with their potential and are still waiting for the right time and policies to "take off". Tourism trends On weekends, Ms. Tran Tu Huong's family (Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi) often takes her children on trips to experience the suburbs of Hanoi. In daily life, adults are busy with work, children are busy with school and extra classes, so only on weekends do families have time to gather together. Therefore, day trips or 1-day and 1-night trips are the most favorite activities of Ms. Huong's family to strengthen family ties, relax and recharge for the new week. “At the Ba Vi Countryside Farm tourist area (Ba Vi district, Hanoi), my family chose to sleep in a stilt house, eat rustic food such as: grilled fish with straw, rice rolls, home-grown vegetables, Son Tay rice cakes, drink Ba Trai tea... The children walked, climbed mountains, picked tea, waded in ponds using fishing nets... The purpose is to let the children get away from the city, not look at phone screens, TV, the whole family is close to nature, learn about life in the countryside of Northern Vietnam. It is worth mentioning that rural tourism around Hanoi has quite good services but the cost is not high. Families can flexibly choose destinations as well as choose activities suitable for each member in a space close to nature, imbued with local culture", Ms. Tu Huong shared. This form of traveling combined with relaxation and experience in the countryside is becoming more and more popular. The trend of agricultural and rural tourism is not only developing in many countries around the world but is especially suitable in Vietnam - a country with a large agricultural land area, the population living mainly in rural areas accounts for more than 62.7%. More than 10 years ago, Ms. Ngo Kieu Oanh - a doctor of science dedicated to protecting traditional Vietnamese culture was determined to build a model of agricultural and rural tourism in the vicinity of Ba Vi mountain - where there are many traditional agricultural villages. The tourist area based on organic agricultural production, associated with craft villages and natural landscapes called Ba Vi Homestead is a destination for many domestic and international tourists. The model is built on the basis of ensuring a solid harmony between nature - culture - people with facilities ensuring accommodation and resort activities to meet the needs of individuals, families and groups of hundreds of students; meals associated with local agricultural products; Experiential activities associated with rural life, traditional agricultural production and modern livestock farms. In particular, visitors can learn about the cultural characteristics of the Mong and Dao people associated with villages and cultural heritage sites. “The farm is closely connected with the surrounding farming community to both provide attractive information for tourists and at the same time become a unit promoting agricultural products of the Ba Vi and Son Tay regions in particular, and Hanoi in general. This is a form of developing harmony between nature, culture and people in urban and rural areas, through staying, relaxing, enjoying scenic spots and enjoying fresh natural specialties in a cozy family and village setting,” Dr. Oanh shared. According to tourism expert Nguyen Quang Dang (Institute for Tourism Development Research), this is a unique form of tourism, combining cultural experiences and the natural environment in rural areas, including many activities, services, and amenities provided by farmers and rural communities to attract and serve tourists. This includes forms of farm tourism, agricultural tourism, craft village tourism, festival tourism, eco-tourism, etc. "Experiences from rural tourism activities such as: catching fish in the pond, picking tea leaves to roast into tea and then making tea to enjoy, pounding and grinding rice with a mortar to make rice rolls, etc. all bring many unexpected and interesting experiences, reminiscent of childhood memories, making the travel time more meaningful," said Mr. Nguyen Quang Dang. Many development potentials
In Decision No. 922/QD-TTg dated August 2, 2022 of the Prime Minister approving the Rural Tourism Development Program in the construction of new rural areas for the period of 2021 - 2025, it is clearly stated that rural tourism development is one of the key solutions and tasks of the National Target Program on New Rural Area Construction for the period of 2021 - 2025; promoting the role of the people and the community as the main subjects; promoting the active and proactive participation of enterprises, cooperatives, and other economic organizations in the development of rural tourism economy through effective forms of tourism value chain linkage. Tourism development in Vietnam is closely related to modern rural construction. Modern rural facilities associated with accommodation and food service infrastructure, environmental sanitation, food safety, preservation and promotion of cultural values, traditional craft villages, etc. have created the basis for the development of rural tourism. On the contrary, rural tourism also contributes to increasing income for families, livelihoods for people, promoting consumption of typical regional products, thereby contributing to promoting the local economy, improving the quality of new rural construction. In the North, there are currently many agricultural tours exploiting traditional rice planting and cultivation activities, handicrafts, livestock farms... Notably, around the suburbs of Hanoi, there are currently 11 ecological agricultural farms operating under the model of education and experiential tourism; 5 specialized cooperatives combining education and experiential tourism and many areas with potential and advantages to develop agricultural and rural tourism. In the Central and Central Highlands regions, there are also many tourism products demonstrating agricultural diversity such as tours to visit ethnic minority villages in many localities. The Southern region and the Mekong Delta with their characteristics of rivers, garden houses... have great potential to exploit and develop agricultural tourism. According to Dr. Ngo Kieu Oanh, for rural tourism to develop sustainably, there needs to be synchronous participation of all stakeholders, from local authorities to the people. Most importantly, those working in tourism need to truly understand and love the beauty and value of rural tourism products that they and their locality are preserving and developing. Dr. Pham Huong Trang, lecturer in Tourism and Hospitality Management, RMIT University, said that to ensure effective development, agricultural tourism activities need to have a systematic service space such as: farms, fields, orchards, traditional craft villages or rural areas with unique cultural values, festivals, and local cuisine. In particular, the participation of the local community is extremely important. As subjects closely attached to the cultural environment and production methods, local people play an indispensable role in synthesizing and sharing cultural values with tourists. They become the preservers and spreaders of agricultural cultural values, contributing to creating unique tourism experiences. In addition, to develop this form of tourism, localities should associate the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program with community tourism services and tourist attractions. Each tourist attraction needs to develop a comprehensive development plan based on natural tourism resources, culture and indigenous values in villages, hamlets and hamlets. At the same time, building common tours, linking in communication activities, promoting tourism between linked localities increases the attractiveness of rural tourism destinations. Promoting, connecting, promoting rural tourism products with large travel agencies or tourist centers, diversifying promotional forms, especially applying digital technology to stimulate all senses of tourists when accessing tourism products promoted by information technology.
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