Turn Nghe An OCOP products into tourism products

Tourism products in the world as well as in Vietnam are very rich and diverse, however, popular in our country today are: Sea tourism, eco-tourism, rural tourism (agriculture), creative tourism (for example, combining cooking lessons, directly making souvenirs, handicrafts, ...), cultural tourism and shopping tourism...

Tourism products are intangible and tangible products that serve people's needs during their travels. The nature of tourism products is very diverse, always changing according to the needs of tourists and the development of the economy in each country and territory. Therefore, to have a high quality tourism product, it must follow the following principles: Suitable for customer needs, bringing economic benefits; having the uniqueness of nature, customs and community culture; having the overall nature and conservation principles (environment, culture, society).

From the issues related to sustainable tourism development, the principle of creating quality tourism products, we see that tourism products are very important in providing "tourism product packages". It can not only directly become a tourism product (shopping tourism) but also a complementary product to all other tourism products. It not only creates a unique regional feature for visitors to remember and explore, but also creates income and added value for tourism businesses and the community. Because that product is often associated with indigenous knowledge and culture, associated with tradition, and brings the uniqueness of the region. It can be a culinary product, an agricultural product, a specialty, a handicraft, etc. This not only increases the attraction of tourism but also contributes to promoting the local image, contributing to the socio-economic development of local people and contributing to sustainable tourism development.

Nghe An is the second province in the country (after Hanoi) in terms of the number of OCOP products ranked 3 stars or higher. By the end of 2022, Nghe An had 403 products of 3 stars or higher (accounting for 4.6% of the country), of which 43 products were 4 stars, 359 products were 3 stars and 1 product was 5 stars, with diversity and richness. Many products have gone beyond the market in the district and commune, some products have even entered supermarkets, to big cities and even exported. However, few products have become official products serving the province's general tourism.

The cause of the above problem, in our opinion, is: For a long time, Nghe An has also raised the issue of developing tourism products (even had a project), however, the method and solution are not clear so it has not been successful. Meanwhile, the implementation time of the OCOP program has only been 4 years, a time that is too short for developing a commodity product.

Although there are many products rated 3 stars or higher, the number of products that are regionally unique, have strong regional cultural features, are traditional and historical is not much. The number of products with those characteristics has not been built into a story to convince customers, to promote the product. The packaging and labels of many products are not eye-catching, and some products do not even meet the regulations on information on product labels. Most products are still produced on a small scale, and in some places, there is even a level of "too much to eat, too little to sell (in large quantities)"! That is why some people say: "We have searched from end to end of the province but still cannot buy enough to give as gifts"! (this is not to blame the producer - because of sudden demand).

The problem of product promotion has been there but the effectiveness is not high. Finally, there is no place to focus on promoting and selling to tourists in a standard way. Therefore, customers who want to buy do not know where to buy.

However, in the near future, to have unique products, typical of the history and culture of the region, in order to contribute to promoting the image of the country and people of Nghe An, it is necessary to organize a contest to vote for some of the most typical products among more than 400 existing products. To select, it is necessary to build criteria, scoring scales, scoring levels and have a council of experts in the tourism and related fields. Products that score 70/100 points, with no failing points, will be selected and continue to be gradually eliminated to have the desired products. After being selected, the province should have support policies to complete the products to meet the criteria for tourism services, as well as content related to the products (product stories - product introduction presentations; sightseeing and experience spaces;...).

The competent authority builds and protects intellectual property rights for products (trademarks, collective trademarks, certification trademarks, geographical indications). Supports the design of product models, packaging models, and labels. Supports the application of technological innovation to create new products, improve quality to meet the increasing needs of customers; Supports trade promotion and product advertising: Communication, website building, fanpage, fairs, etc. Encourage people in the province to use the product with the spirit: "Each person is a brand ambassador".

In some key tourist areas of the province such as: Cua Lo, Kim Lien - Nam Dan, Vinh... it is necessary to support businesses to build "Shopping center for souvenirs and Nghe An specialties"tourism standards. This is not only a place to promote and sell the selected products mentioned above, but also for OCOP products as well as other products of the province. The remaining districts are also built at an appropriate scale and reasonable location (always associated with tourism), when needed and not built massively, to avoid waste.

Another solution is to build a mechanism to support chain connections between manufacturers and tourism companies, especially travel companies. At the same time, strengthen horizontal chain connections between manufacturers to ensure large-scale production and uniform quality and design (if it is a craft village). Apply technology to provide smart tourism solutions so that tourists can easily access tourism services as well as shop for specialties and souvenirs.

In order for OCOP products to become tourism products, it is necessary to do it systematically, with specific, in-depth, regular and long-term consulting instructions. Hopefully, OCOP products, together with tourism, will contribute to the development of the rural economy and elevate the Nghe An brand to fly far and wide./.