Awakening tourism potential from productsUncle Ho's hometown

Products that attract tourists

“The first time I came to Nam Dan, I was not only moved when visiting Uncle Ho’s hometown, but also surprised when I got to enjoy the specialties here. I bought some tapioca starch and rose wine to bring back as gifts. It was both a delicious dish and reminded me of an emotional journey back to the source,” said Nguyen Huong Ly, a tourist from Lam Dong, after visiting Nam Dan last April.

In recent years, Nam Dan has left a mark in the hearts of tourists not only because of its red addresses such as Kim Lien relic site, Uncle Ho's paternal and maternal hometowns... but also thanks to its products imbued with the countryside, elaborately processed, associated with local life and achieving OCOP certification.

After more than 5 years of implementing the One Commune One Product Program, Nam Dan has affirmed its leading position in the province in terms of the number of products achieving stars. Up to now, the whole district has 81 products recognized as OCOP 3 stars or higher, accounting for more than 20% of the total number of products achieving stars in the whole province.

Of these, 72 products belong to the food group, 5 products belong to the herbal group and 4 products belong to the beverage group. This not only shows the efforts of the subjects but also reveals a great potential for tourism development associated with local products.

Notable among them are fruit wine products from the production facility in Thung Pheo Ecological Zone (Nam Anh Commune). Rose wine and tangerine wine are soaked using traditional methods, using white wine distilled from local sticky rice, rose apples, and tangerines grown on the hillsides, at the foot of Dai Hue Mountain, which are selected and soaked.

The product has a golden color, light aroma, sweet taste, highly appreciated for its medicinal value, supporting digestion, blood pressure and increasing resistance. The product is recognized as 3-star OCOP in 2024, luxuriously packaged, with full label information and product story.

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As a son of Uncle Ho's homeland, my greatest joy is to contribute to promoting the image of my homeland Nam Dan to domestic and international friends with local products.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuyen, owner of 2 OCOP products, rose wine and tangerine wine, shared.

“Visitors coming here can visit the rose garden, experience the production process and taste wine on the spot. We built a farmstay model, have a resort space and welcome guests on a tour to the source. As a son of Uncle Ho's homeland, my greatest joy is to contribute to promoting the image of my hometown Nam Dan to domestic and international friends with local products," said Mr. Nguyen Van Tuyen, the owner of two OCOP products: rose wine and tangerine wine.

In May, Nam Dan is permeated with the fragrant scent of lotus. Coming to Kim Lien, visitors can immerse themselves in that pure scent, pick lotus by hand, fold the petals, brew tea, and enjoy cups of pure lotus tea in the peaceful space of a local cooperative. At the same time, they can freely choose unique lotus products such as lotus tea, dried lotus seeds, lotus cakes... from the OCOP booth.

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The feeling of sipping a cup of lotus tea, folding lotus petals by hand in a peaceful countryside setting, is truly an unforgettable experience"

Mr. Pham Van Quy, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, shared
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Another OCOP destination worth mentioning is Dai Hue Green Agriculture Cooperative - where the traditional craft of making cassava starch is preserved and developed. Nam Anh cassava starch has long been considered a precious medicine in traditional medicine, with the effect of cooling and purifying the body. From a few initial single products, the cooperative has now upgraded to a rich product chain such as lemon cassava starch, passion fruit cassava starch... all are beautifully packaged, clearly labeled and ensure hygiene and safety.

The cassava starch production space at the cooperative is designed to be open, welcoming visitors to see the clean and safe processing process. Many tourist groups - especially young people - when visiting Uncle Ho's hometown have chosen to visit the cooperative to experience it.

In addition, traditional soy sauce making facilities have also become places to explore culture. Visitors can experience each stage of making soy sauce, hear the story of this rustic yet humane dipping sauce, and thus love this land of hard work but affection even more.

“The push” to turn OCOP into a tourism product

Despite the obvious improvements, the reality shows that most OCOP products in Nam Dan are still at the level of high-quality agricultural products, not really developed into tourism products. This partly makes the experience of tourists when returning to Uncle Ho's hometown incomplete.

One of the first barriers is uniqueness and brand recognition. Many products are still similar in design, lacking easily recognizable features. Even though the quality is good, if they do not create a visual and emotional impression on customers, their ability to become a tourist gift will be limited. Some OCOP products do not have packaging designs that meet gift standards; they are not packaged into convenient and luxurious tourist product sets.

Promotion and market connection are also bottlenecks. Although there are exhibition booths in some ecological zones and many OCOP booths in the province, there is still no OCOP exhibition booth of Nam Dan at the Kim Lien relic site system.

Tourists come and go, with little opportunity to learn about and access local OCOP products. This reduces the opportunity to commercialize products and misses out on a large revenue stream from tourism.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huong - representative of a travel company shared: "The Nam Dan source tour has great appeal, but the connection between destinations and OCOP experiences is still fragmented. If there is a system of OCOP products designed as tourist gifts, served right at the destination, the effect will be very different".

Some producers have not been properly trained in tourism product development, market access skills, e-commerce or brand story building. That is why, although the product has quality and traditional value, it still cannot be "upgraded" to become a real tourist gift.

For the OCOP Nam Dan product to truly become a part of the journey of tourism to the source, there needs to be synchronous and systematic participation from many sides - from the government, support organizations to the OCOP subjects themselves.

First, it is necessary to focus on developing OCOP products in the direction of serving tourism: beautiful designs, luxurious packaging, easy to carry, easy to introduce. It is necessary to build product "combos" according to themes: "Uncle's hometown gifts", "Nam Dan flavor", "Health care from Sen village"... to make it easier for customers to choose. At the same time, each product should be associated with a story - a slice of culture, history or a specific character to create emotional depth for buyers.

In addition, it is necessary to organize permanent or rotating OCOP booths at major tourist destinations in the district, especially during events and festivals. At the same time, the locality should cooperate with travel agencies and accommodation areas to bring OCOP products into the reception and experience space of tourists.

At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen skills training for OCOP subjects, build brands, communicate products, sell online, participate in fairs, and display products in a professional manner. At the same time, it is necessary to have a long-term, systematic, multi-channel communication strategy to tell stories about Nam Dan's OCOP products in a more attractive and vivid way.

Today’s journey to Uncle Ho’s hometown is not only a journey back to the roots, but also a journey to experience the soul of the countryside through each simple OCOP product, imbued with affection. To make each gift brought back from Nam Dan not only a specialty, but also a cultural message, a “mark of Uncle Ho’s hometown” in the hearts of tourists from all over the world, it requires the cooperation between the government, producers, tourism businesses and the whole community.