Connecting community tourism with Vinh Guru

(Baonghean) - With the idea of ​​widely promoting tourism in the province to foreigners living or working in Nghe An, a group of young people have established a creative and unique community tourism project.

For a long time, Nghe An has not been a priority for both domestic and international tourists. Barriers for international visitors to Nghe An include: Inconsistency in procedures and regulations for foreigners in some border areas and especially language barriers; the time for vacation to explore Nghe An tourism is much shorter than in other provinces and cities; tours specifically for foreigners in Nghe An are very rare.

Seeing that “gap”, in March 2015, a group of young people born in the 80s and 90s in Vinh city boldly established a project called Vinh Guru, with a clear goal: Promoting Nghe An tourism, sharing cultural values ​​through experiential tours, exploring cultural life and cuisine in Vinh and the countryside of Nghe An for foreign visitors.

"Vinh Guru" is a combination of the name of Vinh city and "Guru", which in English is roughly translated as "local", operating with the motto "Travel like a guru" - Travel like a local. Up to now, this is the first and only tourism project focusing on organizing tours for international visitors. Vinh Guru currently has 8 members, aged 19 - 25, passionate about travel, all university graduates and have good English skills; operating as a company with many positions: Tour guide, driver, project marketing, general operations manager...

Vinh Guru members guide tours for international tourists

The unique point of this project is that international tourists will be able to explore Nghe An from the perspective of a true local. A tour is limited to 3-5 foreign visitors so that they can have the best experience, as an opportunity for cultural exchange between countries. They not only visit famous places but also truly immerse themselves in some of the daily activities to truly understand the life and cultural identity of the ethnic groups such as weaving brocade with the Thai ethnic people, bathing in Khe Kem waterfall, rowing on the Giang river... The resting place of tourists is a local's house (a popular form of home-stay for foreigners) instead of a motel or hotel like regular tours.

International tourists explore the landscape on the Giang River

Foreign tourists were delighted with the activities organized by Vinh Guru. Mr. Kaat O (Belgium) said that he and his family had a memorable experience when performing traditional dances with the Thai people, drinking rice wine and enjoying typical dishes: purple sticky rice, cool fish, wild boar... Ms. Season Clauss (Netherlands) shared on social media: "We felt like we were truly Vietnamese for a few days. At the end of the trip, those were experiences we will never forget in our entire lives". Mr. Bosman (Netherlands), a former player of the SLNA football team, participated in the trip to Pu Mat with Vinh Guru's young people and even "asked" a farmer who was planting rice in the field to stop working so he could... plant instead.

Foreign tourists at Con market (Thanh Chuong)

Currently, the group’s direction is also facing certain difficulties in connecting with businesses, hotel systems, and resort service centers. The main reason is that the parties are still hesitant, not giving opportunities to young people with new directions, with little experience in the tourism industry. However, Vinh Guru is still implementing its activities step by step cautiously, “slowly but surely”, putting prestige first as a foundation for future development.

In addition, with the spirit of community, the Vinh Guru group of young people also organizes meaningful activities such as allocating a portion of profits to buy gifts (books, clothes, food) for disadvantaged children in poor ethnic villages that the tour passes through, such as Le village, Co Phat village (Con Cuong)... In addition, on traditional holidays, the group plans to organize events inviting a large number of locals and foreign guests to participate, such as Mid-Autumn Festival and Lunar New Year. It is expected that on Lunar New Year this year, the international guests will be able to participate in making Chung cake, Tet cake, and enjoy Nghe Tinh folk songs, and Giam, in addition to cultural exchange activities and international cuisines organized by Vinh Guru.

Last November, members also signed up to support a taxi company in the city to provide translation and travel advice to international visitors via a hotline number, in case taxi drivers have difficulty communicating in a foreign language. These activities are completely non-profit.

With the spirit of community, the long-term goal of the 8x and 9x generation is to provide all support services for foreign visitors to Vinh such as tours, translation, related paperwork... Hopefully, this creative start-up direction and positive efforts of the Vinh Guru group of young people, along with the support of authorities at all levels and related sectors, will contribute to making Nghe An a favorite and familiar destination for international tourists.

Hoang Van