Quang Binh moves to promote tourism development in ethnic minority areas

Among the more than 40 tourism products that the locality is exploiting, many cultural ones in ethnic minority and mountainous areas have initially attracted tourists.

Visiting Quang Binh, tourists will have a chance to explore pristine caves and landscapes, and learn about culture of the very small Bru-Van Kieu and Ruc ethnic minority group s. According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ho An Phong, the locality is home to two groups of Bru-Van Kieu and Chut. Each group has its own unique cultural value.

These cultural values together with natural resources play a crucial play in socio-economic development in general and tourism development. Tours to historical sites and experience culture of ethnic minorities on the legendary Truong Son-Ho Chi Minh Trail are also typical tourism products of Quang Binh.

A number of unique cultural festivals, recognised as national intangible cultural heritages, have become cultural and tourist events, attracting the attention of tourists.

Last June, the provincial Party Committee issued a resolution on socio-economic development and preserving cultural identity, security and order in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2022 – 2025, with a vision to 2030. Under the document, the locality will focus on developing tourism products providing an insight into local culture-history and those related to festival activities and folk art culture of the locality, and forming community cultural tourist destinations.

Recently, the provincial Department of Tourism organised a programme to survey tourism products in villages with majestic natural landscapes, and ethnic minority areas that still retain many unique cultural values, with the aim of sketching out plans and measures to develop sustainable tourism development associated with preserving and upholding local traditional cultural values.

According to Tran Xuan Cuong, Director of travel company Netin, to develop sustainable tourism in ethnic minority areas, it must rely on natural resources and communities. In recent years, Netin has cooperated with local authorities and residents to protect and sustainably exploit tourism resources on the basis of respecting nature and protecting the environment, he said.

Villagers engage tourism activities by providing local products, performing traditional musical instruments serving visitors, while the firm opens training courses instructing locals on how to cook and present dishes and other relevant skills, Cuong said. The fair sharing of benefits between businesses and local communities will encourage people to participate in the chain of sustainable tourism activities, he added.