Farmers in Viet Hai (Hai Phong) 'change their lives' thanks to tourism

The attraction of "island of islands"

About 45 minutes by boat from Cat Ba town, Viet Hai commune is isolated and is called by tourists as “the island of islands”. Located deep in the core area of ​​Cat Ba National Park and the World Natural Heritage of Cat Ba Archipelago – Ha Long Bay, Viet Hai is a place to preserve rare genetic resources listed in the world red book, typically the Cat Ba langur and the golden needle tree.

With a natural area of ​​about 6,485 hectares, the island commune appears like a picturesque landscape painting because it possesses a rich ecosystem including valleys, majestic mountains and forests, and streams flowing all year round. Thanks to this rare advantage, in recent years, the island commune has become an attractive destination for tourists, especially international visitors.

Peaceful scenery of Viet Hai village.

According to Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Chairwoman of the Farmers’ Association of Viet Hai Commune, about 15 years ago, people in Viet Hai Commune mainly farmed and raised livestock and poultry. Life was extremely difficult. Today, along with the achievements of the new rural construction process, tourism has a foothold for development.

In 2015, there was only one homestay in the area, and the number of tourists coming to Viet Hai was only about 9,000. Now, the number of tourists coming to Viet Hai has increased nearly 10 times. Since 2019, income from tourism has accounted for about 70-80% of the total income of the whole commune.

Viet Hai island commune appears like a charming landscape painting.

The number of tourists coming to Viet Hai is increasing day by day, but for a long time, the commune still has only about 87 households, with less than 300 people. According to Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, realizing that people are still passive in the face of tourists' activities, in 2023, the Farmers' Association of Viet Hai commune launched the model of the "Farmers doing tourism" Club.

Viet Hai Commune Farmers' Association launched the "Farmers doing tourism" Club model.

The club helps people change their crop structure to suit the geographical and weather conditions of remote islands, and at the same time builds experimental models of rice cultivation, lotus cultivation and traditional plowing for foreign visitors to experience. At Viet Hai, what tourists like most is that all service prices are listed, without any haggling.

Mr. Tran Van Vinh's wild boar farming model to serve tourists.

Mr. Tran Van Vinh, manager of the largest tourist facility “Viet Hai Eco-Village” on the island commune, shared: “Taking advantage of the heritage site, the facility is aiming to develop eco-tourism with familiar agricultural and rural products such as: Animal husbandry, rice milling, rice pounding, sugarcane growing, rice transplanting… These activities, which are inherently familiar to ancient Vietnamese villages, have attracted the attention of many tourists.”

Ms. Vu Thi Hong Gam, Head of an organic vegetable growing cooperative, said: “We are both farmers and tour guides helping visitors experience clean vegetable fields. Thanks to the support of the government and travel companies in equipment, tools and fertilizers, the economic efficiency is superior to the previous simple agricultural production.”

The tourist facility "Viet Hai Eco-Village" aims to develop eco-tourism with familiar agricultural and rural products.

In 2023, the average income of households participating in the model will reach about 25 - 35 million VND/month. In 2024, it is expected that the island commune will welcome 100,000 visitors, with average income per capita reaching 90 million VND/person/year. In addition, tourism businesses also create jobs for many local workers with an average income of 5-8 million VND/month. To date, the locality has no poor or near-poor households. Many households in Viet Hai island commune have truly "changed their lives".

Find ways to increase guest stays

Sharing with reporters, Mr. Vu Phi Hung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Viet Hai commune frankly said: Besides the initial successes, the current community ecotourism models in Viet Hai are still quite small and spontaneous, mainly done by households themselves, not commensurate with the inherent potential.

Fish model giving foot massage to tourists in Viet Hai commune.

Because Viet Hai commune has not been recognized as a tourist destination, the locality is not allowed to sell entrance tickets to tourists according to regulations. In addition, the lack of entertainment and recreation facilities also limits the length of stay and spending of tourists. The main source of revenue from tourist facilities is mainly from renting electric cars and selling soft drinks. In particular, a round-trip electric car ticket from the pier to the facility is only 30,000 VND.

In Viet Hai, the two most popular means of transport for tourists to visit the landscape are bicycles and electric cars.

In addition, due to its location in the core zone of Cat Ba National Park and the World Natural Heritage of Cat Ba Archipelago - Ha Long Bay, building new or repairing infrastructure, especially construction of facilities for tourists to stay, is almost impossible.

“The difficulty in upgrading and expanding entertainment and accommodation facilities has made Viet Hai slow to “change its appearance”. Therefore, “holding on” to overnight tourists has not been really smooth”, Mr. Tran Van Vinh shared.

A household in the Club has invested in building a Homestay to serve the accommodation needs of tourists.

According to Mr. Vu Phi Hung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Viet Hai Commune, the rate of staying guests is still low compared to the number of visitors coming to visit and experience. Currently, the whole commune has only 4 homestays with 60 rooms. Therefore, although the locality expects to welcome 100,000 visitors in 2024, only about 2,000 tourists stay (about 2%).

Mr. Vu Phi Hung hopes that all levels and sectors, especially the City Farmers' Association, will pay attention to and focus on training, equipping knowledge about tourism, training business culture, communication and behavioral skills for the club to help farmers change their awareness, be bolder and more confident in tourism business.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/nong-dan-viet-hai-hai-phong-doi-doi-nho-du-lich-10292960.html