What solutions to develop sports tourism in Nghe An?

Bringing new experiences

Nowadays, sports tourism is considered one of the strategies to enhance the image of the destination, thereby creating a difference for tourism products. The strength of sports tourism is that it is not limited by any factors, the market of sports tourism is also aimed at all subjects. Therefore, this type of tourism not only brings new experiences to tourists but also increases the recognition of the local tourism brand.

Recently,Marathon "Ky Son Win Vietnam Mountain"(The Marathon "Going to the mountainous region - conquering Puxailaileng peak, the roof of the Truong Son range") with more than 800 athletes from many provinces and cities across the country participating has also taken on the appearance of a modern sports tourism product. Although it was organized for the first time, according to the assessment of the tourism community, the tournament was quite successful and contributed to promoting tourism in the westernmost district of Nghe An in particular, and Nghe An in general during the Spring of Giap Thin 2024.

The marathon only took place in one session, but before that, the organizers had created many connections for the participating tourists, through many unique cultural and artistic activities. Throughout the days of the event, not only information about the race, but also information about the cultural beauty, land, people, and OCOP products of Ky Son district were widely shared on mass media and social networks. Many musical, cultural, artistic activities, culinary experiences, and typical products created great attraction for everyone.

Previously, in August 2023, an expanded provincial-level marathon, the "Ve mien vi, giam" Marathon, also became a notable sports and tourism event in the province, with the participation of more than 4,000 domestic and international athletes and nearly 3,000 relatives of the athletes cheering.

Determining that the tournament will open a new direction in the development of sports tourism, the tourism industry has requested tourist accommodation establishments in Vinh city and Cua Lo town to have preferential policies on accommodation prices for athletes and their companions attending the tournament; ensuring facilities, service quality, security, safety and food hygiene and safety for athletes and tourists. The Department of Tourism also directed travel agencies to coordinate in introducing and promoting tourism programs to visit Nghe An and organizing tours to explore and experience tourist attractions in the province when athletes and tourists have a need.

Mr. Bui Ngoc Duc - an athlete from Hanoi capital shared: "Although the actual conditions are still difficult, the organizing committee has made great efforts to prepare the best conditions for the athletes to participate in the competition. I am confident that in the marathons held in Nghe An in the future, the number of athletes will increase."

Also in 2023, a number of sports tournaments associated with tourism will take place in the province, such as the 2nd Cua Lo Open Cycling Race for the Sea Daisy Cup, attracting the participation of nearly 400 athletes from 31 cycling clubs from provinces and cities; the "Les Foulées de la Soie" running program taking place in Con Cuong district, organized by the Sports Development Organization (SDPO), bringing together 70 French athletes to participate...

Strengthen coordination, form unique products

It can be affirmed that sports tourism is a “fertile land” that is being strongly exploited to stimulate tourism and develop a sustainable economy. However, although a number of sports tournaments associated with tourism have been organized, sports tourism products in Nghe An are still in their early stages and have not yet fully exploited their potential.

Sports tourism includes two types: tourism combined with watching sports competitions and tourism with the purpose of participating in sports activities. In Nghe An, tourism combined with watching sports competitions is still very limited. For example, in 2023, Nghe An hosted two national tournaments: the National Pole Pushing - Tug of War Championship in Cua Lo town and the 2023 National Sepak Takraw Championship in Vinh city, but the attraction of both tournaments to tourists is still not as expected, when there are very few tourists from other provinces coming to watch and cheer.

To develop this type of tourism combined with watching sports competitions, Nghe An must be a major sports center, attracting national, regional and international sports tournaments; Nghe An's high-performance sports must have a worthy position on the national sports "map". However, in Nghe An, to meet those conditions still needs a long way".

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Mr. Nguyen Huu Phuong - Head of Sports Management Department (Nghe An Department of Culture and Sports).

In tourism activities with the purpose of participating in sports activities, services are still lacking and weak and have not received due attention from related sectors and localities. For example, with sea tourism, with 100 km of coastline and many famous beautiful beaches such as: Cua Lo, Dien Thanh, Quynh Bang, Bai Lu... 40% of the population is concentrated in coastal localities, Nghe An has a lot of potential for developing sports associated with sea tourism.

However, up to now, the Tourism and Culture - Sports sectors have not had any orientation on the development of these sports associated with sea tourism. Currently, when coming to Cua Lo beach, tourists can participate in sports such as parachuting, jet skiing, etc.; however, the organization of these sports is spontaneous and lacks direction, so it is still small and unorganized, and some sports even pose a potential risk of insecurity due to the loose management of the authorities. In addition, many other attractive sports such as swimming, diving, beach kite flying, windsurfing, etc. have not received much attention for investment and development, while this is the type of sport that international tourists are always very excited to learn and explore.

In rural and mountainous areas, apart from some marathons mentioned above, no locality has yet introduced sports such as rowing, mountain biking, trekking... associated with tourism development.

In fact, the connection between tourism and sports will contribute to shifting the number of visitors in terms of space and time, limiting seasonality, attracting tourists in the low seasons. Therefore, to promote the development of sports tourism, it is necessary to have closer coordination between the two sectors of Tourism and Culture - Sports in paying attention to surveying and planning suitable locations and areas to organize sports tourism programs, calling for investment in infrastructure to organize sports activities combined with tourism exploitation.

In addition, it is necessary to have a plan to call for and support businesses to organize sports tournaments to attract tourists; focus on forming a series of tourism promotion events associated with sports tournaments, thereby forming a unique and attractive sports tourism product of the province./.