Nghe An tourism must become a 'golden lotus'

(Baonghean) - On January 16, 2017, the Politburo issued Resolution 08 - NQ/TW on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector, opening up new development opportunities for Nghe An tourism in particular and for other localities, meeting the expectations of the tourism community nationwide.

Realizing that, based on the direction of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee, the Nghe An Department of Tourism quickly disseminated the content of the Resolution to cadres, civil servants, public employees in the industry, and leaders of large tourism enterprises in the area, and proactively advised on the development of the Action Program of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee on the implementation of Resolution 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo.

Up to now, the draft Action Program has received over 40 comments from senior officials who are working and retired from Nghe An; experts and scientists in the field of tourism, the General Department of Tourism; leaders of Party Committees and Party Committees under the Provincial Party Committee; leaders of provincial departments and branches, People's Committees of districts, cities, key tourist towns, Nghe An Tourism Association... Currently, the Department has received, completed and is waiting for a report to be submitted to the Provincial People's Committee and the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee.

In Western Nghe An, Xao Va waterfall is an important highlight in the tourist space of Que Phong district. Photo: Sach Nguyen

In parallel with the development of the action program, the Department has also promoted the development of the implementation plan of the Provincial People's Committee, the planning and tourism development plans of the province, districts, cities, towns, and Kim Lien National Monument Area in the province to more clearly define the goals and tasks of developing Nghe An tourism in the spirit of Resolution 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo.

Regarding tasks and solutions for implementation, in addition to the 8 tasks and solutions mentioned in the resolution to serve the goal of tourism development, including: renewing awareness and thinking; restructuring the tourism industry to ensure professionalism, modernity and sustainable development according to the laws of the market economy and international integration; perfecting institutions and policies; investing in developing infrastructure and technical facilities; enhancing promotion; creating a favorable environment for businesses and the community; developing human resources; enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of state management. For Nghe An, due to its characteristics as a locality of national security significance and being the largest province in the country, with a 419km long border with Laos and 4 border gates, 82km of coastline and coastal islands, the Department and sectors agreed to add a task on tourism development associated with ensuring national defense and security.

With its functions and tasks, although there are still many difficulties due to its new establishment, the Department's leaders have tried to overcome them, in addition to advising on the implementation of Resolution 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo mentioned above. Currently, the industry has been focusing on implementing the main contents in 2017 as well as preparing for the following years, specifically: The industry has focused on implementing a campaign to promote and attract tourists to Nghe An, especially Cua Lo and coastal districts, considering this an important solution to quickly restore tourism growth momentum after the marine environmental incident in the Central provinces in 2016.

In particular, proactively connecting with the Vietnam Tourism Association, Hanoi UNESCO Club and units inside and outside the province to organize the reception of 4 delegations of travel agencies and press (famtrip) to survey Nghe An tourist routes and destinations; coordinating with the People's Committee of Cua Lo town to organize a press conference to introduce the 2017 Cua Lo Tourism Festival Program and events during the tourism year; coordinating with the Tourism Association and districts, cities, towns, and businesses to effectively participate in the Hanoi VITM International Tourism Fair and especially the promotional trip to promote the Chinese tourist market in Guangxi, Chengdu, Sichuan and Yunnan organized by the General Department of Tourism to gradually exploit and rapidly increase the number of international visitors to Nghe An.

Cua Lo Beach in tourist season. Photo: PV

Nghe An Tourism Industry has promoted cooperation in tourism development with provinces and cities, including signing the Tourism Development Cooperation Program with the Department of Tourism of Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and the Northern provinces. Coordinated to advise on the implementation of the master plan for tourism development in Nghe An until 2030, with a vision to 2050, with funding support from BIDV; Master plan for the development of Kim Lien National Tourism Area under the authorization of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and continued to review, survey and synthesize data and information to propose a list of projects and sub-projects of the province participating in the Project "Developing tourism infrastructure to support comprehensive growth in the Greater Mekong Sub-region - Phase II" 2018 - 2022 and the Tourism Infrastructure Development Investment Program 2016 - 2020.

Strengthening the training and development of tourism human resources in the area, in which the Department has opened 5 training courses on reception, room service, hotel desk and periodic knowledge training for tour guides; successfully organized the 2017 Provincial Tourism Competition for Excellent Hotel Room Service Skills.

Strengthen the management of the quality of tourist destinations and accommodation services, rectify the activities of travel agencies and tour guides, and adventure tourism activities; promptly advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue a plan to implement the Code of Conduct in tourism under the direction of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in conjunction with the continued implementation of Directive 18/CT-TTg and Directive 14/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister, contributing to building a safe, civilized and friendly tourism environment. Organize the signing of programs and plans to coordinate with the Provincial Police, Provincial Youth Union, Department of Culture and Sports on ensuring national security and social order and safety in the tourism sector; improve the efficiency of exploiting and promoting the value of relics and heritages, promoting the development of cultural tourism in Nghe An province until 2020 and the work of propaganda, promotion and protection of the tourism environment.

Thanks to that, in the first 6 months of the year, Nghe An tourism activities have had positive changes, the growth rate of visitors and tourism revenue has strongly recovered, especially in Cua Lo and coastal areas. Many new tourist destinations and community tourism models in Western Nghe An continue to be effective, contributing significantly to the growth of tourism in the whole province.

Singing Vi and Giam folk songs at Kim Lien relic site, Nam Dan - is being developed by Nghe An into a typical tourism product of Nghe An. Photo courtesy

The above results were achieved thanks to the close and drastic leadership and direction of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, the Provincial People's Committee, the coordination and support of departments, branches and localities in the province, especially the efforts of all cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers in the province's tourism industry.

However, the above results are only the first remarkable step, the task ahead is still very heavy. To successfully complete the assigned tasks and meet the expectations of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, People's Council, and Provincial People's Committee, the coming time requires the entire tourism industry to make stronger efforts, solidarity, collaboration, innovation and creativity, step by step making the province's tourism become a spearhead economic sector in the spirit of Resolution 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo, contributing positively to the socio-economic development of the province as President Ho Chi Minh advised the tourism industry when visiting Kim Lien Hotel in 1961: "Kim Lien is a golden lotus. Tourism is like a flower that beautifies life, but tourism must create material wealth to be not only a "lotus" but a golden lotus".

Nguyen Manh Cuong

(Director of Nghe An Department of Tourism)