Nam Dan Tourism: Lack of depth of connection

(Baonghean) - Despite possessing a lot of tourism potential, the smokeless industry of Nam Dan district has not yet developed to its full potential and advantages. Tours lack connectivity; tourism products lack diversity and unique highlights; service infrastructure has not been able to retain tourists...

With 167 relics and scenic spots, many of which are very special, and a unique indigenous culture, Nam Dan has long been considered one of the highlights on the tourist map of Nghe An. This is further confirmed by the district's statistics, in the period 2010 - 2015, the number of tourists visiting Nam Dan reached 1.8 - 2 million/year. The tourism industry also achieved a fairly high growth rate, over 10%/year. However, these figures still cannot satisfy managers in the tourism industry and the locality.

First of all, if we look at the tours to Nam Dan, we can see that the tourist destinations are only focused on visiting the paternal and maternal hometowns of President Ho Chi Minh and the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan (Uncle Ho's mother). And a smaller number of tourists visit the Vua Mai relic complex, but according to the district's Department of Culture and Information, tourists mainly visit during the Lunar New Year and the Vua Mai Temple Festival. In contrast, other relics and scenic spots are sparsely visited, even without visitors.

Selling souvenirs at tourist attractions in Nam Dan.

Phan Boi Chau Memorial House in Nam Dan Town can be considered a regrettable example of exploiting tourism potential. Here, the space of the North Central countryside village is still preserved with rows of fragrant tea leading to the yard, in the garden are typical fruit trees. In particular, the highlight of this tourist attraction is the wooden house, thatched roof preserving artifacts reflecting the life and lifestyle of the family and Mr. Phan when he was in the countryside. Next to it is the Phan Boi Chau Monument and the House displaying artifacts related to his life and activities. Coming here, we can imagine more clearly the life and career of a great patriot and cultural figure of the nation. This relic site has all the elements to become an attractive destination for tourists on their journey to the land of great men - Nam Dan.

I have had many opportunities to accompany delegations of Japanese politicians, businessmen and experts when they came to work in Nghe An. Despite their busy schedules, they still took the time to visit the Kim Lien Relic Site and an indispensable place is the Phan Boi Chau Memorial House with admiration and respect, which is a testament to the attraction of this relic. However, through discussions with Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thu, a tour guide from the Nghe An Monuments and Landscapes Management Board, who is in charge of the tour here, I learned that the number of tourists visiting the Phan Boi Chau Memorial House is very small. They are mainly students in the district, occasionally there are groups of students visiting and learning about the reality, and a few foreign visitors, most of whom are Japanese. Meanwhile, some visitors said that they had visited Uncle Ho's hometown many times but had not been introduced to the Phan Boi Chau Memorial House.

Thus, it can be seen that the factor of promoting and linking tourist attractions for tourists in the journey to visit Nam Dan is still weak. Besides, even in the tours that have attracted visitors, they are still struggling with the problem of retaining visitors. Reality shows that the exploitation of the values ​​of relics and scenic spots has not paid due attention to the service sector. While the main tourist attractions do not sell tickets and visitors can visit freely, the services of accommodation, relaxation, food and shopping are the important part to create great added value for the tourism industry.

However, in Nam Dan, the number of visitors each year reaches millions but almost no tourists stay, the service points are very limited, the souvenirs are monotonous, lacking local characteristics. Once, I took some friends from Binh Duong to visit Uncle Ho's hometown. After visiting his paternal and maternal hometowns, they all wanted to buy souvenirs with typical characteristics as gifts. However, the stalls mainly sell hats, clothes, stone art objects... these things, tourists can buy at any tourist destination; the most prominent are only lotus products such as lotus hearts, dried lotus seeds, Nam Dan soy sauce but the appearance is not beautiful and there is no label to ensure quality. From the above limitations, the "smokeless industry" in Nam Dan, although being the key tourist destination of the province, has not had a big impact on the economic life of local people. In 2015, the Service and Tourism industry only accounted for nearly 29% of the district's economic structure.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Thien Dung, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Nam Dan district said: “In the recent period, although Nam Dan district has focused on directing the development of the tourism industry and has achieved many results. However, Nam Dan tourism still has limitations. Many destinations have not attracted tourists; accommodation facilities are still few; the number of tourists staying is small, souvenir products are still monotonous”. Mr. Nguyen Thien Dung added that Japan is consulting to survey the tourist route on Lam River associated with visiting relics and scenic spots in the area. In addition, the district is taking steps to build the Nghe An Ethnic Culinary Cultural Area in Nam Dan. The Provincial People's Committee has issued a decision on allowing the survey to select locations and make detailed plans to build the Nghe An Ethnic Culinary Cultural Area in Nam Dan district. According to the plan, this tourist destination will be built into functional subdivisions including: Nghe An Ethnic Village; resort service area; food court; entertainment area and management and administration area.

Nam Dan district has a special position on the tourism map of Nghe An province and the whole country. To overcome the limitations, the district’s authorities and sectors need to take proactive and bold steps to create breakthroughs for local tourism, in order to find a solution to the problem of “awakening potential”.

Thanh Duy