Hoi An, from unknown "destination" to international tourist center

From an "unknown" destination on the tourist map, Hoi An has become the leading tourist center of the region and the whole country (tourists visiting the ancient town in December 2024). Photo: KHÁNH LINH

Pioneering

Ms. Huynh Thi Kinh - former Deputy General Director of Hoi An Tourism - Service Joint Stock Company recalled that in April 1990, the Catering Service Company and Hoi An Tourism Company were merged to become Hoi An Tourism - Service Company. At the same time, the Party School of the province at 10 Tran Hung Dao was transformed into a mini hotel (now Hoi An Hotel) with 8 rooms, becoming the first state-owned enterprise to do tourism.

At that time, the company had about 40 staff members, mainly Western backpackers. According to Ms. Kinh, in the 1990s, there were not many accommodation facilities. In addition to the state-run Hoi An Hotel, the entire town had about 20 facilities, but most of them were small-scale, including mini hotels, villas, homestays such as Vinh Hung, Thuy Duong, Thanh Binh, etc.

Mr. Vo Phung - Vice President of Quang Nam Tourism Association, former Deputy Head of Hoi An Town's Department of Culture and Information at that time, said that around 1988, tourists came to Hoi An but not many, most of them went alone, occasionally there were groups of tourists from Da Nang visiting the assembly halls, ancient houses..., then returning to Da Nang to stay. In 1993, Hoi An issued a specialized Resolution on tourism, at this time Hoi An also started selling tickets to visit the old town but it was not effective.

Hoi An always offers many attractive experiences for tourists (photo taken in October 2024). Photo: KHÁNH LINH

Since 1995, Hoi An has gradually become bustling with tourists, many services have also begun to form such as dining, shopping, cooking classes... especially fast tailoring services with names like Thu Thuy, YaLy, A Dong Silk... appeared, becoming a "specialty" of Hoi An until now.

According to Mr. Tran Thai Do - owner of Silksense Hoi An hotel, due to the increasing demand of tourists for quick tailoring, a number of tailor shops and fabric shops have been established in Hoi An, including his A Dong Silk.

“At that time, my wife had been selling clothes at the market for a few years. Realizing that the number of visitors to Hoi An was increasing and the need for quick tailoring was growing, in 1998 my wife and I decided to go to the city to open a quick tailor shop,” said Mr. Do. Up to now, quick tailoring has become a familiar service, bringing many attractions and excitement to visitors when visiting Hoi An.

Cultural values ​​of Hoi An people

Mr. Nguyen Su - former Secretary of Hoi An City Party Committee shared that in 1993, Hoi An had a resolution on tourism development for the first time, which allowed economic sectors to do tourism, but it also faced conflicting opinions because it was believed that only the state was allowed to do tourism. There was even a fierce ideological struggle about whether Hoi An needed to develop tourism or not.

“I remember in a People's Council meeting at that time, regarding the issue of expanding and building more hotel rooms in Hoi An, there were dissenting opinions. People said that hospitals lack beds, schools lack chairs, so why build hotel rooms?” – Mr. Su recalled.

Quick tailoring in Hoi An in August 2024. Photo: KHÁNH LINH

In 1994, Hoi An's economic structure was still in the order of fishing, agriculture, industry, handicrafts and tourism, in which fishing and aquaculture were identified as the top. In 1995, after the conference on preserving Hoi An ancient town, the idea of ​​developing tourism was mentioned more often, originating from the message of the late architect Kazid (Poland) when he commented that Hoi An people would make money and become rich from ancient houses.

In 1997, after the re-establishment of the province, the Department of Trade and Tourism of Quang Nam was officially established, marking a milestone in a new economic sector of the province and Hoi An. This is also clearly shown in the strategy and comprehensive economic planning of Hoi An when shifting the economic structure towards industry, trade and services.

However, tourism only really “exploded” when Hoi An Ancient Town was recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage (1999), the number of visitors began to increase dramatically, at this time tourism has truly become the city's spearhead economic sector. If in 1999 over 202 thousand visitors stayed in Hoi An, by 2024 this number had increased to 4.426 million, nearly 22 times higher.

Looking back at the development of Hoi An tourism after 50 years since liberation, Mr. Nguyen Su affirmed that the value that makes up the Hoi An tourism brand is not only the heritage and architectural works, ancient houses but also the human factor and the space of the street.

“If visitors come to Hoi An just to visit the old town, they will go once or several times, but why do they still come to Hoi An so much? Behind that are the people of Hoi An, the elements that create the soul of the town. Hoi An people always create intimacy but moderation, friendliness but not eagerness or sloppiness. Perhaps this is also a characteristic that has been ingrained in their blood since the time of the trading port. Even with the space of the town, it is quiet but not silent. Hoi An people know how to sell that quietness to get rich,” Mr. Su acknowledged.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/hoi-an-tu-diem-den-vo-danh-den-trung-tam-du-lich-quoc-te-3151590.html