Developing community-based tourism

Community tourism is a type of tourism developed on the basis of the cultural values of the community, managed, exploited, and benefited by the community. Identifying the strengths, roles, and values of community tourism, in recent years, Phu Tho has oriented and focused on developing community tourism on the basis of promoting the cultural, historical, and natural landscape values of the locality associated with the direct participation of the people.

The Hung Lo community cultural tourism site opens up opportunities for local people to increase their income and stabilize their lives.

From the center of Viet Tri city, it only takes about 10-15 minutes by car to reach Hung Lo ancient village, a legendary land located on the Lo river with many relics associated with the Hung King period.

Recognizing the value of the unique tourism resources of the locality, the provincial tourism sector has promptly oriented, supported the construction, promoted tourism, and exploited the traditional cultural values here, including the tourism product “Hat Xoan Lang Co,” organized to perform for tourists at Hung Lo Communal House; community tourism products associated with visiting ancient houses; tourism products to experience making banh chung; experiencing rural agricultural villages...

The People’s Committee of Viet Tri City has also actively participated in many practical activities: upgrading the connecting routes to Hung Lo, building and promoting OCOP products to serve tourists, mobilizing people to actively participate in tourism activities...

Thanks to that, the Hung Lo community cultural tourism site was recognized by the Provincial People’s Committee as a provincial-level tourist destination in September 2021. Since then, community tourism and experiential tourism in Hung Lo commune have developed rapidly and sustainably with the potential and strengths of the Hung Lo Communal House relic complex, traditional craft villages, and a system of over 50 ancient houses.

In just 10 months of 2024, the Hung Lo community cultural tourism site welcomed about 10,000 visitors, including 22 international river groups with nearly 500 visitors. Developing community tourism in Hung Lo also opens up opportunities for local people to increase their income. In particular, for women, who account for more than 50% of the population, tourism development is a good opportunity to create jobs for them to participate in related industries and services.

Phu Tho - the Ancestral Land, the ancestral land of the Vietnamese people, has a long history of formation and development with rich and attractive tourism resources, with great potential for building and developing tourism types and products, including community tourism. To create momentum for development, the province has implemented synchronous solutions such as: selecting and developing community tourism destinations with full ecological landscape factors; ensuring safety and security based on the cultural values of the ancestral land for investment and construction; upgrading infrastructure; training human resources to serve tourism development; training and raising community awareness, especially for ethnic minorities...

The province has also introduced many preferential mechanisms and open policies to attract investment, encourage and support tourism businesses, and develop tourist areas and destinations of the province, especially community tourism associated with typical products and products of each region.

So far, the province has 4 recognized provincial-level community tourism destinations: Hung Lo, Bach Hac (Viet Tri City), Ban Du, Ban Coi, and Xuan Son Commune (Tan Son District). On average, each year, community tourism destinations welcome hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists, thereby contributing positively to the overall tourism development of the province.

Tourists experiencing at Ban Du, Xuan Son Commune, Tan Son District experience the colors of eco-tourism and community culture.

Mrs. Duong Nhi Ha, Head of Tourism Resources Development Department, Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said: Community tourism is bringing economic efficiency to families, contributing to promoting the image of the homelands of the Ancestral Land associated with unique cultural features to friends from all over the world. Therefore, to develop community-based tourism, preserving and promoting indigenous values is a decisive issue. This can only be done on the basis that people truly understand the value of the natural and human resources they hold, benefit from tourism exploitation associated with these values, and are conscious of preserving and protecting resources. Only then will the development of community-based tourism be truly sustainable.

Nguyen Anh