Community tourism is not something new in Vietnam now. From the Northeast mountainous area, the Central Highlands to the Red River Delta, the development of this tourism model has helped increase income and reduced hunger and poverty for the community.
Rather than poverty reduction
In many provinces in the Central region of Vietnam, the community tourism model has brought lots of positive results, becoming a unique feature. In Quang Nam, many districts and communes have reaped fruits from applying this model.
In 2008, thanks to the support of Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Thua Thien Hue rearranged cyclo tourism according to the community tourism model with an aim to making cyclo tourism a highlight of Hue.
Prosperity in the Northwest
With impressive beauty, the Northwest is a land with lots of potential for tourism development. This place is also home to many historical heritages and 30 ethnic minority groups. Besides, the Northwest area has a rich agricultural sector, with milk cow raising, fruit growing, and tea processing. Generally speaking, this place gathers lots of favourable conditions for the development of community tourism.
With the help of IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature) and SNV in 1998, Sapa district drafted a project to support sustainable tourism with an aim to providing training to and improving the community’s awareness of doing business in tourism. At the very beginning, the project was implemented in the community tourism route of Sapa – Cat Cat – Sin Chai with the participation of four families living in Sin Chai.
In case of Ha Long, participating in community tourism here will not only bring tourists a chance to enjoy but also dip themselves into precious cultural values of the locality.
A new wind for tourism in the South
The Mekong River Delta has long been known for its strengths and potential for tourism development. However, up to now, such strengths and potential have not been fully exploited. In order to enrich tourism content of the Delta, it can be said that the establishment of community tourism model for tourists to participate in daily life activities of local people is a good approach and welcomed by many localities in the Delta.
Right from the beginning of the year, with the sponsorship of Agriterra, the Central Farmers Association of Vietnam implements the community tourism model in the project “Enhance agricultural tourism” in My Hoa Hung (Long Xuyen) and Van Giao (in Tinh Bien district, An Giang province). The pilot model also is being implemented in Van Giao commune on the occasion of Chol Chnam Thmay, a traditional Tet holiday of Khmer ethnic minority group. This is supposedly a new product of An Giang’s tourism sector, and a unique feature which is present for the first time in Bay Nui area.
Thao Nguyen
Vietnamese
