From ancient times to the present, tourism and cultural heritage have always had a symbiotic relationship. If cultural heritage is properly exploited, it will become an important resource to promote sustainable tourism development. Conversely, tourism development will create resources to preserve heritage. Therefore, all levels, sectors and localities in the province have implemented many flexible and creative solutions to develop tourism products from cultural values.
Tourists check-in at Pu Luong Tourist Area (Ba Thuoc).
One of the activities to exploit cultural values to attract tourists that has been creating attraction since the beginning of the year is the organization of traditional festivals. Thanh is a place where hundreds of traditional festivals converge and accumulate the essence of hundreds of traditional festivals stretching from the coastal areas, plains to the mountains. Festivals are closely associated with the formation and development of the community of ethnic groups living together in the area. In recent times, most localities in the province have focused on organizing festivals and creatively and flexibly organizing more unique cultural and sports activities. This not only contributes to preserving and promoting the value of festivals but also creates unique tourism products to attract tourists.
It is worth mentioning that, along with organizing festivals, many localities are also interested in restoring and reviving traditional festivals that have been lost. The most typical of which is the restoration and organization of the Pho Cat Temple Festival in Van Du Town (Thach Thanh). According to historical records, Pho Cat Temple belongs to the Pho Cat scenic relic, located in Van Du Town, Thach Thanh District, built under the reign of King Le Canh Hung (1740 - 1786), is the place to worship Holy Mother Lieu Hanh - a saint in the Four Immortals according to Vietnamese folk beliefs. Among the temples worshiping Holy Mothers, Pho Cat Temple is the first place in the country to be conferred the title of Supreme Goddess.
Previously, Pho Cat Temple Festival was held on a large scale from January 15 to March 3 of the lunar calendar, with the main ceremony on February 18 of the lunar calendar. Over time, Pho Cat Temple Festival has gradually faded away and has not been restored and organized in a systematic manner, consistent with the scale, stature and important position of the temple. 2024 is also the first year the festival is held at the district level, with many unique cultural and sports activities, the most typical of which is the procession of the Holy Mother's ball.
Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Thach Thanh district, Le Thi Huong, said: "The restoration of Pho Cat temple festival demonstrates the determination of the Party committees and authorities of Thach Thanh district to meet the expectations and wishes of the people and tourists. From there, it will enhance the sense of responsibility in preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the nation. At the same time, it will promote the cultural and tourism potential, the image of the land and people of Thach Thanh to friends inside and outside the province."
According to Ms. Huong, the festival attracted a large number of people and tourists to attend. This further affirms that the festival is an attractive tourism product that attracts tourists. In the coming time, the district will continue to pay attention to organizing festivals in a civilized, safe and economical manner. At the same time, it will focus on restoring traditional festivals that have been lost, considering this a strength to promote tourism development.
In fact, many localities in the province have been successful in creating and exploiting tourism products from cultural values. For example, at Pu Luong Nature Reserve (Ba Thuoc), it is no coincidence that this place is a "hot" name on the Vietnam tourism map. The reason for this is that along with the natural scenery bestowed by nature, the tourism workers here have been flexible in creating tourism products from the indigenous culture of the local Thai and Muong ethnic groups. Visitors coming here, in addition to immersing themselves in the cool green nature, can also visit and experience the real life of the people from the lovely stilt houses, to learning about the indigenous culture of the residential communities in Don, Hieu, Kho Muong villages... with many activities such as admiring the terraced fields, experiencing the harvest of ripe rice, growing vegetables, picking tangerines and learning about agricultural ecology, enjoying traditional culinary cultural values.
Muong ethnic people perform gongs at Pho Cat temple festival, Van Du town (Thach Thanh).
Along with that, the development of resort tourism and community-based eco-tourism has been effectively exploited by Pu Luong Nature Reserve recently, with activities such as visiting natural landscapes and learning about the environment. For those who love to explore and adventure, they can participate in mountain climbing programs, conquering Pu Luong peak, trekking, marathon through Pu Luong forest, visiting caves... In addition, Pu Luong tourism also regularly has new programs based on exploiting cultural values according to peak tourist seasons to attract tourists.
Thanh Hoa is a land that "converges" all terrains, has many valuable tangible and intangible cultural heritages. This is a valuable resource for tourism development. In recent times, in order for these cultural values to be increasingly preserved and shine in the flow of national culture and contribute to promoting tourism development, Thanh Hoa province has issued many conclusions, resolutions, and plans to contribute to the work of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage. In particular, the "Program to improve the cultural quality of Thanh Hoa province in the period of 2021-2025" and the Plan to preserve, renovate, restore and prevent degradation of historical and cultural relics in the province... Along with that, the culture, sports and tourism sector has coordinated to organize many training courses on methods to preserve traditional costumes, teach folk songs and dances to ethnic minorities. Organize many competitions, performances, and art festivals to attract a large number of artisans, actors, and people to participate in performing, creating, and enjoying culture.
These activities have contributed to preserving and exploiting cultural values for tourism development. However, compared to the potential and strengths of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage system, the creation of tourism products from culture is still quite modest. Therefore, in order for cultural values to increasingly attract tourists, more participation from all levels, sectors, localities and communities is needed.
Article and photos: Nguyen Dat
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