Phu Tho: To make spiritual tourism a four-season destination

Over thousands of years of history, Phu Tho is currently preserving and promoting the value of 1,372 historical relics, including Hung Temple historical relic ranked as a special national historical and cultural relic; 73 relics ranked as national relics, 12 historical relics; 207 architectural and artistic relics ranked as provincial historical and cultural relics.

On average, Phu Tho tourism welcomes more than 6 million visitors each year. Of which, the Hung Temple historical relic site welcomes about 5 million visitors and the peak is during the main festival, welcoming about 3 million visitors. Not only Hung Temple but other spiritual tourist destinations only focus on the main festival days and early spring, outside of this peak period, the number of visitors decreases significantly.

Tourists participate in the experience of the water procession ceremony at the confluence of three rivers to Tam Giang Temple, Bach Hac ward, Viet Tri city.

Faced with that situation, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DCT) has implemented many solutions to build spiritual tourism into a four-season destination. The Department has increased cooperation with travel companies to design spiritual tour packages suitable for each type of tourist, especially international visitors and young people.

Diversifying spiritual tourism products is built through exploiting attractive tourist routes such as: Lac Long Quan Temple - Hung Temple Historical Relic Site - Lai Len Temple - Hung Lo Ancient Village; Hung Temple Historical Relic Site - Hung Lo Ancient Village - Xuan Son National Park - Thanh Thuy Hot Mineral Water Resort; Hung Temple Historical Relic Site - Tam Giang Temple Relic Cluster - Dai Bi Pagoda - Au Co Ha Hoa Temple...

Historical and cultural relics associated with national intangible cultural heritages located in the cultural space of Hung King worship have been and are the highlights in typical spiritual cultural tours such as: Hung Temple Historical Relic Area associated with Hung King's Death Anniversary - Hung Temple Festival; Au Co Temple - Ha Hoa district with Au Co Mother worship; sacred water procession ceremony at the river confluence at Tam Giang Temple, Bach Hac ward, Hung Lo Communal House relic, Viet Tri city...

Phu Tho Tourism Information and Promotion Center, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism cooperate with travel agencies inside and outside the province to build tour programs including many preferential service packages with discounts and free gifts when exploring destinations and heritages in Phu Tho such as: One-day tour Hung Temple - Hung Lo Communal House - Hung Lo Ancient Village; 2-day 1-night tour Hung Temple - Hung Lo Ancient Communal House - Tam Giang Temple - Long Coc Tea Hill - Wyndham Lynn Times Thanh Thuy Hot Spring Complex; 3-day 2-night tour Hung Temple - Xoan Singing in the Ancient Village - Long Coc Tea Hill - Xuan Son National Park; 5-day inter-provincial tour Returning to the Ancestral Land - Hanoi - Phu Tho - Yen Bai - Lao Cai...

Visitors listen to the tour guide introduce the history and architecture of the National Ancestor Lac Long Quan Temple

Experiential activities are integrated into spiritual tourism routes to increase the value of destinations such as: making banh chung, pounding banh day; making rice noodles, weaving conical hats, listening to Xoan singing... Building art programs, small festivals, and unique spiritual activities taking place throughout the seasons of the year. Along with that, focusing on training and fostering a team of professional tour guides, in order to convey the content and meaning of the relic site to visitors.

In addition, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism encourages homestays and hotels near spiritual tourist attractions to invest in architecture imbued with national cultural identity; pay attention to upgrading spiritual tourist attractions, improving road systems, parking lots, restrooms, and landscape spaces at temples and pagodas to facilitate visitors.

To enhance the travel experience, a smart travel application has been deployed, providing detailed information about spiritual destinations, digital maps, online guides, and tourist support services. This application helps users easily look up festival schedules, religious cultures, and suitable sightseeing routes.

In 2025, Phu Tho province's tourism is expected to welcome 6 million 650 visitors, with expected revenue of 4,500 billion VND.

Tourists experience Xoan singing at Hung Lo Temple

Mr. Nguyen Dac Thuy - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: “To stimulate tourism, the province has implemented many measures to attract tourists, in which spiritual tourism is given special attention. Localities promote spiritual destinations, upgrade infrastructure, organize large-scale festivals and combine traditional cultural experiences. At the same time, spiritual tours combined with sightseeing tours are built, creating diversity for tourists. Promoting the value of relics, improving service quality and applying technology in promotion help spiritual tourism become a highlight to attract tourists”.

In order for spiritual tourism in Phu Tho to develop towards a four-season destination, a comprehensive strategy is needed from products, infrastructure, promotion to community participation. The harmonious combination of tradition and modernity will help Phu Tho become an attractive destination, attracting tourists all year round, contributing to promoting the economy and preserving national cultural identity.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/phu-tho-de-du-lich-tam-linh-tro-thanh-diem-den-bon-mua-20250325151138069.htm