Therefore, if they are preserved and promoted, the cultural heritages will help to honour the national brand, as well as contribute to positioning the tourism brand in each locality and region.
Vietnam’s Tourism Development Strategy by 2030, which was approved by the Prime Minister on January 22, 2020, affirmed the view of focusing on cultural tourismdevelopment and associating tourism development, with the preservation and promotion of heritage values and national cultural identity.
Some proposed key solutions are developing cultural tourism products in association with preserving and promoting the values of cultural, historical and traditional heritages of the nation; focusing on exploiting the diverse and distinctive culinary strengths of regions, to form unique and different tourism products with competitive advantages, contributing to building a prominent brand of Vietnam's tourism.
So far, Vietnam has had eight world cultural and natural heritages, 15 intangible cultural heritages, nine documentary heritages, three global geoparks and 11 biosphere reserves that were recognised by UNESCO. This is not only the advantage and pride of the community where the heritages are located, but also an important foundation in promoting the local culture and tourism brand.
The localities possessing world heritages have received great attention for repairing and restorations, as well as the organisation of many meaningful activities.
Most of Vietnam's cultural heritages have become attractive destinations after being recognised by UNESCO, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign visitors. In particular, many destinations have become typical identities of localities, such as Hoi An Ancient Town (Quang Nam Province), Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh Province), Tran An Landscape Complex (Ninh Binh Province) and the Complex of Hue Monuments (Thua Thien Hue Province), etc.
However, the attention to the issue of positioning the local tourism brand through the promotion of the heritages’ values is not uniform in the localities. This needs to be improved because the local tourism brand not only helps to increase the visibility of each locality but also creates a competitive advantage to attract tourists and create livelihoods for people, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the local economy.
Creating its distinct and unique imprint is an important factor in building and positioning a local brand. On the other hand, local images and brands are often created by the locality’s culture, destination and local product brands.
Therefore, in addition to the landscape factor, tourism products need to have a diverse combination with traditional customs and practices, based on respecting different indigenous cultural colours. At the same time, it is essential to focus on exploiting the unique culinary strengths of the regions. In addition, a specific plan and orientation for harmonious and balanced development are needed, so that intrinsic factors of the heritage should be respected towards the tourism development, in an in-depth and sustainable manner.
