OCOP stalls - shop to your heart's content when traveling to Cua Lo.

The beach tourism season presents a "golden" opportunity for Nghe An's OCOP products to access a large and potentially lucrative consumer market. The OCOP booth in Cua Lo will serve as a link between local specialties and the experiential and shopping needs of tourists. This is not only an effective sales channel but also a strategic test of the quality, design, and competitiveness of Nghe An products in the tourism market.

This year's tourist season, in addition to the clear blue waters, smooth sandy beaches, and delicious fresh seafood, the Vinh City People's Committee is also offering a new experience for tourists visiting Cua Lo - a space for displaying and introducing OCOP products - where the essence of Nghe An's specialties is gathered and shared.

With 60 stalls and over 200 products from hundreds of participating businesses and entities, the OCOP (One Commune One Product) booth in Cua Lo is expected to be a prominent highlight in the 2025 coastal tourism landscape. More than just a shopping destination, the OCOP space opens up a different journey of discovery, adding to the experience as each gift carries the flavor, story, and sentiment of the people of Nghe An.

Previously, to buy specialties like Nam Dan veal sausage, Hung Nguyen rice cakes, or handicrafts such as rattan and bamboo weaving from Diem village, or Hoa Tien brocade, many tourists had to search online, order online, and wait for delivery. This inconvenience not only diminished the buyer's experience but also made local specialties less accessible to tourists.

Therefore, the appearance of the OCOP (One Commune One Product) booth right on Cua Lo beach has special significance. It not only shortens the distance between local products and consumers but also creates an attractive cultural and commercial space at this key tourist destination.

Visitors to Cua Lo this year will have an even more exciting experience. After swimming and strolling along the beach promenade, they can visit the OCOP (One Commune One Product) booths to find souvenirs that reflect the unique character and identity of Nghe An. From familiar items like ready-to-eat seafood, convenient to take home as gifts; from dried agricultural products, honey, herbal tea… to handicrafts, everything is carefully selected and meticulously crafted in terms of both design and quality. This is not just a shopping activity, but also a part of a journey to discover the culture, people, and identity of Nghe An.

Ms. Tran Thanh Hoang (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) said: “I booked a tour to Cua Lo for the April 30th - May 1st holiday this year. Through the travel agency, I learned that this year's Cua Lo tour will include an experience space showcasing Nghe An's OCOP products. I find it very interesting and am looking forward to it. Because in the past, when we traveled to Cua Lo, we only knew how to buy seafood as souvenirs and didn't have the time to wait and shop for other local specialties.”

What's special is that behind each OCOP product displayed at this summer's booth lies a meticulous preparation process by the producers. From raw materials and processing techniques to packaging design, labels, and tags, everything is invested in a more systematic and professional way to meet the increasingly sophisticated tastes of tourists.

They are not only selling their products, but also carrying their faith, feelings, and expectations for a new distribution channel – where each customer is an ambassador promoting their local products. Bamboo and rattan weaving workshops have improved their designs to suit modern spaces; some traditional food producers have invested in QR codes and introductory videos so customers can thoroughly understand the origin of their products.

Mr. Thai Dang Tien, Director of Tra Lan Cooperative (Chau Khe commune, Con Cuong district), said: “Participating in the OCOP product display and introduction booth in Cua Lo during this year's beach tourism season, our cooperative selected the most distinctive, highest quality, and most beautifully designed products. Each product delivered to tourists is a valuable gift, a story about Tra Lan bamboo, and a story about the craftsmen who created the products.”

From a tourism perspective, the establishment of OCOP (One Commune One Product) stalls in Cua Lo not only meets the shopping needs of tourists but also creates a new tourism product – experiential tourism combined with consumption. This is a trend that has become popular in many localities, as tourists increasingly want to touch products associated with the region they visit, and take home not only material gifts but also spiritual gifts full of memories and impressions. For a locality rich in products like Nghe An, this is a golden opportunity for its distinctive products to "catch up" with the tourism market.

On the other hand, this is not only a highlight of the beach tourism season but also a foundation for building a long-term strategy for sustainable local economic development, using tourism as a bridge to spread local values. When tourists stop and choose to buy a local specialty, they not only take home a gift, but also the flavor of the land, the warmth of the people, and an unforgettable impression of a Nghe An rich in identity. That is the soft power that OCOP can create to attract tourists.