Cua Lo: From 'one-season' tourism to 'year-round tourism'
(Baonghean.vn) - In order for tourists to come to Cua Lo, it is imperative that tourism businesses open their doors to welcome visitors and provide services. And in order for people and businesses to get into the habit of opening their doors, Cua Lo must change its mindset to "annual tourism" instead of "tourist season" as before and have more stimulus policies.
"Cua Lo is beautiful but sad"
Cua Lo has had some very beautiful winter days. Warm sunshine spreads evenly over the coastal city. The ocean brings fresh air. The sea water is warm, people can swim in the sea... Cua Lo is beautiful but sad this season. The streets are lively except for the two weekends, otherwise they are deserted and desolate. On the beach, a lot of trash is washed up by the waves, no one cleans it up. Hundreds of hotels and motels have completely stopped operating, most of the business stalls along the coast are closed. Large, modern hotels and restaurants operate at a low capacity, serving seminars and conferences.
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| In winter, Cua Lo "closes the sea" to the regret of many tourists |
Cua Lo “closes the sea” to the regret of many tourists. Mr. Ngo Anh Van, in Dong Da district, Hanoi shared: “I came to Cua Lo this season to enjoy the fresh air of the sea. However, the town is too deserted, many shops and hotels are closed. People sometimes want to find a sense of privacy, sometimes need the hustle and bustle to blend in. So, I went to Cua Lo for only about 30 minutes and then returned”...
Not only Mr. Van but there are always tourists coming to Cua Lo this winter, but the locality lacks convenient services.
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| Tourists' needs for exploration and travel have changed, they still go out in winter. |
Ms. Pham Thi Ha, director of a large accommodation and restaurant - one of the few units still open to serve guests in the winter in Cua Lo, shared: People in the tourism industry still have the old "one-season" mindset. Therefore, in the low season, shops and hotels are "closed, lights off".
Meanwhile, now the need for exploration and tourism of tourists has changed, they still go out in winter. Tourists coming to Cua Lo will not stay and will not come back if there is no service. Businesses need to try to open and operate together, cooperate together, because the efforts of one unit or individual are meaningless, difficult to satisfy tourists.
Efforts to bring visitors to the coastal city
In order to avoid winter in Cua Lo tourism, Nghe An has implemented many stimulus solutions in recent times. Nghe An has made recommendations to all levels, sectors and units that when there are seminars and conferences, they should be held in Cua Lo. Nghe An tourism industry continuously organizes promotional activities, promoting and introducing Cua Lo tourism products at domestic and international tourism fairs.
In particular, the tourism industry has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the UNESCO Hanoi Travel Club to bring visitors to Cua Lo; signed an agreement with the Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company to reduce ticket prices to increase the number of visitors to Nghe An.
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| Tourists coming to Cua Lo will not stay and will not return if they see no service. |
To attract tourists to Cua Lo in particular and Nghe An in general, stimulus policies have also been implemented by the locality.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Khoan, Chairman of Nghe An Hotel Association, said: The Association's member hotels and a number of hotel businesses have agreed to reduce room rates by 20% for travel agencies and tourism businesses connecting Hanoi Capital, the Northern provinces with tourist destinations in Nghe An province. The discount period for hotels in Cua Lo town is from October 1, 2019 to March 30, 2020 and from September 1, 2020 to March 30, 2021. The discount period for hotels in Vinh city and districts is from October 1, 2019 to May 19, 2020.
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| Come to Cua Lo this season to enjoy the fresh air of the sea. |
Recently, Cua Lo town itself has been actively implementing solutions to stimulate demand and promote off-season tourism.
Mr. Vo Van Tho, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Cua Lo town, said: Since the beginning of the year, the town has developed solutions to attract tourists during the low season. The solutions include propaganda and promotion; recommending business units to adjust service prices; strengthening connections for conference and seminar tourism; organizing activities and competitions on sports, culture and arts; developing winter tourism products...
Need to have a "travel year" mindset
Despite many efforts, the effectiveness of bringing tourists to Cua Lo is not high. In recent meetings to give opinions on developing tourism in Nghe An, many travel agencies suggested that it is necessary to change the service mindset of businesses and tourism workers.
Mr. Nguyen Van Quy, Director of a travel agency in Nghe An, commented: In the process of bringing groups of tourists to Cua Lo, we realized that they really like the sea during this season, especially families and foreign tourists. However, it is also quite inconvenient because the hygiene here is not guaranteed and the services are limited.
In winter, Cua Lo is still in a dilemma of benefits and effectiveness of opening to welcome visitors. The solution to this problem is that businesses need to open to welcome visitors. Initially, there may be few visitors but gradually there will be more. Opening will create a stimulus effect, sustainable development and travel businesses will bring more visitors.
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| It is necessary to change the service mindset of businesses and tourism workers. |
Local authorities also need to change their tourism mindset - Mr. Vo Hong Sang, Vice President of Nghe An Tourism Association suggested: In recent years, the weather has been favorable, Cua Lo in winter is very beautiful, we must take advantage of this by promoting and stimulating demand. Authorities at all levels need to have more preferential policies on taxes, fees... for units opening in winter. More importantly, there must be a real change in strategy, which is "annual tourism" rather than "tourist season". The "annual tourism" mindset will create appropriate actions.
Recently, on October 22, Nghe An Tourism Association organized a launching ceremony for the program "Tourism joins hands to protect the environment and reduce plastic waste". Within the framework of the ceremony, more than 70 businesses in the province went to Cua Lo town and collected waste and cleaned the beach. The businesses hope that through this action, they will inspire units and people in the coastal town to join hands to build tourism products in the low season.
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| “Tourism joins hands to protect the environment and reduce plastic waste” |
Cua Lo needs to change its mindset, but how and where to start? - According to travel businesses: Cua Lo today needs to take the "Cua Hoi model" from previous winters to start. The "Cua Hoi model" does not mean opening a new area along the coast, but somehow allowing existing restaurants to open during this season. The number of restaurants opening at the same time needs to be concentrated in one area with a number of 15-20 restaurants. This "synergy" will certainly attract customers. And this very start will create new habits for the people.
Once the habit of opening in winter is formed, the next step is to build new products such as markets, shopping areas; create new connections between Cua Lo - Vinh City - Kim Lien - Sunflower Field - Con Cuong...
“From now until the end of the year, the number of tourists coming to visit the source and spirituality will be very large. Nghe An also has many new products to launch such as Vinh City Walking Street, Nghia Dan Sunflower Field.”... Clearly, in this Winter 2019, Cua Lo still has many opportunities to change and attract visitors.
