Eco-tourism in Nghe An 'reigns' on the occasion of April 30 and May 1

Travel but not... noisy

The holiday season has officially begun, but 1 to 2 months in advance, many families in Nghe An have already planned their trips.

The family of Ms. Le Thi Hong Mai, Cua Nam Ward, Vinh City shared: “Usually, families still travel during the summer. However, this year, the 30/4 and 1/5 holidays are 5 days off, which is the longest opportunity for our families to travel together.”

Community tourism in the Western region of Nghe An. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Choosing to go during the holiday, Ms. Mai and her friends also determined that they would encounter crowded, noisy, jostling scenes at many tourist attractions. Therefore, instead of traveling out of town, visiting famous places at home and abroad like previous years, this year Ms. Mai and her close friend's family joined a tour to relax and explore Con Cuong, a place with many beautiful landscapes; to experience homestay tourism that she had heard about.

Ho Chi Minh City Famtrip delegation surveyed the tea island (Thanh Chuong). Photo: Ho Phuong

The trend of eco-tourism and experiential tourism at locations in the province is also chosen by many people. "Not too crowded and not having to go too far, but being able to enjoy many delicious dishes, many rustic specialties; being able to enjoy many famous beautiful scenes right in your hometown, why bother going far and tiring yourself out" - Mr. Tran Duy, in Hung Dung, Vinh City said. At many travel companies, since mid-March, tours for the holiday have been sold out.

Backpacking is also being chosen by many families for the April 30 - May 1 holiday. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Mr. Nguyen Huynh Suong - Director of a tourism company in the province said: "In recent years, Nghe An people have developed the habit of traveling and most of them have gone to familiar, traditional destinations. That is why this year, although the number of visitors increased by 30 - 40%, more than half chose eco-tourism and resorts, especially many families booked tours in the province."

Ho Chi Minh City Famtrip delegation visits Uncle Ho's maternal hometown. Photo by Ho Phuong

Members of the Ho Chi Minh City Famtrip delegation interacted with Thai ethnic people in Khe Ran village, Bong Khe commune (Con Cuong). Photo: Ho Phuong

Along with these trends, many destinations in Nghe An tend to be overloaded. In addition to traditional tourist destinations such as Cua Lo, visiting Uncle Ho's hometown, in recent years, tourists have been quite interested in visiting Thanh Chuong tea hills, Pu Mat - Con Cuong National Park, and Dien Lam - Dien Chau eco-tourism area.

President Ho Chi Minh's maternal home in Nam Dan. Photo courtesy

It can be affirmed that recently, tourism products in the province are quite diverse and are gradually meeting the needs of "eating, drinking, enjoying and having fun for tourists". For example, in Pha Lai Eco-tourism Area (Con Cuong), in the past, visitors mainly came to enjoy the specialties of Giang River, explore community tourism, but now they can experience other types of activities such as kayaking, Zipline sliding. Tourists on Lam River can enjoy folk songs of Nghe An.

Previously, during the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day holiday, Con Cuong welcomed more than 5,000 tourists and earned more than 1 billion VND in revenue. Therefore, during this long holiday, the district called for propaganda and dissemination among the tourism community to implement the code of conduct: "Con Cuong people speak good words, do good deeds, and behave civilly."

Along with that, Cong Cuong district also has many directive documents to strengthen the work of preserving the tourism environment, improving service quality, ensuring safety for visitors during the April 30 and May 1 holidays, especially the transportation of tourists by inland waterways, water amusement parks, rivers and streams.

In addition, tourism businesses are required to develop procedures and rescue plans to ensure the safety of tourists and arrange rescue forces to be on duty at dangerous locations.

During the April 30 and May 1 holidays, Quynh Luu district opened Quynh Beach Tourism with many interesting activities such as: Men's and women's beach volleyball, soccer; art photography contest. As for tourists, choosing Quynh beach for relaxation can combine with short-term tours such as: Visiting cultural villages and national relics (Quynh Doi) - Lam Son pagoda (Quynh Yen) - swimming in the sea (Quynh Nghia); visiting Diep islet (Quynh Van) - King Ho temple (Ngoc Son) - swimming in Quynh Bang, Quynh Nghia; visiting Vuc Mau Lake (Quynh Thang) and craft villages, coastal aquaculture areas.

Many tourists come to Cua Lo beach. Photo: Document

In particular, the price of tours in the province is not too high compared to other destinations. Currently, with only about 3,700,000 VND, visitors from Hanoi can have a 3-day, 2-night tour to explore Nghe An with destinations such as Pu Mat National Park - Pha Lai Dam Eco-tourism Area - Cua Lo - Lam River Cruise - Che Island - Uncle Ho's hometown.

Quyet Mountain and King Quang Trung Temple seen from above. Photo: Trung Ha

Due to the high demand for tourism during the holiday, most hotels are fully booked at this time, especially in tourist destinations such as Dien Chau, Cua Lo, and Con Cuong. A representative of a hotel in Cua Lo town also said: Although room rates have increased by 15-20%, the hotel currently has no rooms left to rent.

Uncle Ho's hometown - one of the attractive destinations for tourists during April 30 - May 1. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition, not only on April 30, but also on weekends in June and July, all rooms were fully booked. Currently, the whole town has 296 accommodation establishments with the capacity to serve more than 24,000 guests/day and night, but most of the hotels are fully booked.

This is also a positive signal for the province's tourism in 2019 when Cua Lo is aiming to welcome nearly 3.2 million tourists, an increase of 12.6% compared to 2018.

In the 2019 tourist season, Cua Lo is determined to do a good job of ensuring the environmental landscape. Photo: Document

In particular, note not to increase prices, fulfill commitments to tours and ensure benefits for tourists.