Spreading Cua Lo tourism brand

Come to love...

In the golden sunshine of early July - the peak month of the tourist season, after two years of being affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, like many other tourist destinations across the country, tCua Lo townreally bustling because tourists from everywhere have chosen this place as a destination on their sightseeing and vacation journey.

Walking around the town, it is not difficult to see many license plates of cars from other provinces such as Hanoi, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen... parked tightly in hotels and motels. Even the motels and hotels in lanes 3 and 4 are now crowded with guests. According to the report of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Cua Lo town, during the summer tourist season, especially in June and early July, Cua Lo welcomes about 15,000 visitors per day, of which about 30 - 35% stay overnight. The total number of tourists in the first 6 months of the year is estimated at 1.260 million, reaching 8% of the plan, of which 430,000 stayed overnight, reaching 83% of the plan. Revenue from service and tourism activities reached 1,280 billion VND, reaching 84% of the plan. This is a good sign for Cua Lo tourism after 2 years of being frozen byCovid-19 epidemicWhat is it about Cua Lo that makes tourists remember and love it so much?

Tourists swimming in Cua Lo beach. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Present at Yen Huong establishment specializing in selling fresh and dried seafood in block 7, Nghi Thuy ward. At this time, the establishment is quite crowded with tourists visiting and choosing to buy seafood as gifts after the trip. The owner of the establishment both smiles and welcomes, introduces each type and does not forget to include the specific price of each item, and quickly selects and advises customers on the items they request.

Cua Lo has many sacred and tranquil spaces. With hundreds of years of history, this place has a dense system of relics, many of which have been put into tourism development. Mai Bang Temple (Nghi Thuy Ward) is one of them... Photo: Thanh Cuong

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Lan (a tourist from Thai Nguyen) is meticulously choosing to buy dried squid and happily said: This is the third time her family has chosen Cua Lo, and every time they go in a large group. Like this year, her group has a total of 12 members, all of whom are siblings and children. She said that at first, there were many opinions about going to Sam Son, Da Nang, Nha Trang... but in the end, the majority chose Cua Lo. For many reasons: first, the distance is within reach of all members; second, the prices in Cua Lo are very reasonable (from accommodation, food, services); third, Cua Lo has a beautiful beach, fresh seafood. And importantly, Cua Lo has both the appearance of a bustling urban area and the beauty of a fishing village. There are also many historical relics associated with this land that not every place or region has.

Grilled fish on charcoal, an attractive dish of Cua Lo during the tourist season. Photo: Duc Anh

As for Mr. Trinh Xuan Hong (a tourist from Hanoi), every time he comes to Cua Lo, his family has a very different feeling. Like this year, after 2 years of not being able to travel due to the pandemic, he chose Cua Lo to relax with his wife and children. “My family has had the opportunity to go to Cua Lo before because the whole family loves Cua Lo beach because it is beautiful, comfortable and great for swimming. This time coming to Cua Lo, I spent time to learn about destinations in Cua Lo. Therefore, when we came here, my wife and I decided to spend a day visiting fish sauce processing facilities, fish grilling facilities... to witness the seafood processing process with our own eyes. My children were very excited because they had only seen it on TV... We don't have much time so we haven't been able to visit the historical sites in the area yet. But that's okay, it's an opportunity for us to come back to Cua Lo".

Concerns of people working in tourism

Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet (Hai Giang 1 block, Cua Lo town) has more than 30 years of experience in producing traditional fish sauce. Photo: Thanh Thuy

How can we not come back, how can we not love the land and people here because they always care about and take care of each product, each service... with the desire to bring tourists the best products. That is the concern of Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet (owner of Loan Viet fish sauce production facility) - Hai Giang 1 fish sauce craft village. After more than 30 years of making fish sauce in the traditional way, for Ms. Viet, the job must be done with all your heart. The heart of the people working here is "clean from input to output and say no to preservatives". For Ms. Viet, the job of making fish saucefish sauce, every step is very important. To make the drops of fish sauce with delicious flavor, the color must reach the level of cockroach wings, the craftsman must choose fresh ingredients and not be frozen (according to Mrs. Viet's secret, frozen fish to make fish sauce will not be delicious). The salt to marinate the fish must be clean salt and left for as long as possible (buy the salt, let it dry for about a year before using it to marinate the fish to make fish sauce). The fish sauce must be made from clay or cement, but the inside must be smooth, after being washed, these must be dried under the sun continuously to remove the smell before using.

With more than 30 years of experience in the profession, Ms. Viet's processing facility only chooses black anchovies to make fish sauce (because this is a delicious fish). For 1 ton of fish, it is necessary to marinate 200 kg of salt. If marinated less, the fish sauce will definitely spoil. If more salt is added, the fish sauce will never be delicious. The color of the fish sauce will be black and have a foul smell. For example, Ms. Viet's production facility marinates about 10 tons of fish each year. The fish sauce she produces is mainly sold to regular customers and tourists. Many customers buy it once and find it delicious, and every year, she just needs to call and she will pack and ship the goods to customers in the South and the North...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet said: Happy that customers remember her, happy that the fish sauce of the craft village is loved by consumers, and seeing that she needs to try harder to serve customers better, so that customers remember her longer, those are the only things that make a craftsman happy.

"In the service profession, there is nothing more joyful and happy than when customers remember and come to you" - that is also the sentiment of Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - owner of Huong Son restaurant. Because after a long time of being affected by the Covid - 19 epidemic, when tourism was restored, many customers "did not abandon her" but still came to the restaurant to support her, which made her very touched. That sentiment is the source of encouragement for her and her husband to think and change more in the way of serving, in the process of processing and choosing food. Like this tourist season, to meet the needs of tourists, Ms. Huong recruited more waiters, repaired the restaurant, purchased more items, redecorated the dining rooms appropriately... She always told the service team to always be friendly when customers arrive, and happily greet them when they leave. The restaurant menu is always diverse and suitable for many types of diners.

The concerns of Mrs. Viet and Ms. Huong are the common concerns of all people working in tourism in Cua Lo. Although they are not professional and have not been properly trained, they serve tourists with the heart and soul of coastal people who are "used to eating and talking about the wind and waves". We travel to learn about regional culture, to understand once again the land and people where we come. Each countryside and land will give us different experiences about cuisine, people, services... all of which will contribute to creating the unique culture of the beloved S-shaped land. And Cua Lo is the same, in the general direction of the town, each person must be a tourism propagandist - Cua Lo has been aiming for that good thing with the goal of building a "safe, friendly, hospitable" coastal town.

Striving to welcome and serve more than 3.1 million tourists

Opening of Cua Lo Tourism Festival 2022. Photo: Thanh Cuong

After more than two years of being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, like many other tourist destinations in the country, the coastal tourist town of Cua Lo has changed a lot with the goal of welcoming and serving more than 3.1 million tourists, an increase of 42.5% compared to 2020, tourism revenue reached 3,300 billion VND, an increase of 47.7% compared to 2020.

Sea daisies bring many interesting experiences for children on a trip to Cua Lo with their parents. Photo: Duc Anh

To achieve that goal, in the first 6 months of 2022, the Town People's Committee directed relevant departments and units to survey and develop tourism products in Cua Lo; promote and advertise Cua Lo as a safe tourist destination for visitors, while combining epidemic prevention with economic development. State management of tourism activities, especially the "5 no" policy, has been vigorously implemented since the beginning of the year. In coordination with Vinh city, Nam Dan district organized a conference on linkage and cooperation in tourism development "Three localities, one journey, many experiences". Especially in 2022, instead of focusing only on the summer months, Cua Lo tourism will last throughout the year, from the opening day of April 9 to December 31, 2022 with many activities to highlight Cua Lo tourism, spreading to visitors near and far and international friends. Typical examples include the human chess tournament; Street Music Festival program; Art program about the Vi and Giam region; Karate, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball tournaments of the whole province; Competition of tour guides and tour guides; Competition of good chefs of the town; Final round of the Got Talent contest of Nghe An province; Cau Ngu Festival in Nghi Hai ward... The highlight is the opening of Cua Lo Tourism Festival and the art program with the theme "Cua Lo love for the sea and desire to shine" creating an impression in the hearts of tourists.

Performance space of Nghe Tinh Folk Songs - The pride of Nghe An in general and Cua Lo in particular. Photo: Thanh Chung

Especially this July, for the first time, Cua Lo town organizes a hot air balloon festival at the beach east of Binh Minh Square and some other locations in the town. This is one of the outstanding activities in the 2022 tourist season. Coming to the festival, people and tourists have the opportunity to admire beautiful hot air balloon performances, bringing a feeling of excitement and enjoyment. If needed, visitors will experience sitting on a hot air balloon flying high to see the whole view of Cua Lo and the surrounding areas. Along with the hot air balloon festival, also in July, in this beautiful coastal town, there is also the Phuc Luc Ngoat festival and the flower lantern release ceremony taking place at Cua Hoi bridge on the evening of July 16.

Cua Lo is changing every day to bring many interesting experiences when coming to this beautiful coastal city. In particular, the diversification of dishes is always focused on by the restaurants here. That is the highlight to leave an impression in the hearts of tourists. Photo: Duc Anh

Along with cultural - sports - festival activities, Cua Lo town has also focused on building tourism infrastructure, beautifying the green - clean - beautiful urban area to welcome tourists; mobilizing socialization to install LED lights, decorative lights on main roads, repairing and upgrading electronic welcome gates, replacing, upgrading, adding new check-in points made of flowers and environmentally friendly ornamental plants. Strengthening coordination with the Police, the Urban Market Management Team, the Tourism Security Team of the wards in managing tourism activities, ensuring safety for tourists while swimming, playing and visiting.

One solution that the town pays special attention to in order to attract tourists is the construction of destinations. In particular, the focus is on destinations in Nghi Thuy ward with the formation of a walking street, a food street, a shopping street, the restoration of spiritual destinations and traditional cultural features. From Nghi Thuy destination, Cua Lo gradually expands to build new destinations and tourism products for all 7 wards in the area.

Cua Lo Beach. Photo: Canh Hung

Mr. Hoang Van Phuc - Vice Chairman of Cua Lo Town People's Committee said: To further spread the Cua Lo tourism brand, in the coming time, the town will continue to strengthen propaganda and promotion of Cua Lo as a safe and friendly destination, strengthen tourism connections with provinces in the North Central region. There are measures to stimulate tourism such as improving service quality to attract visitors. Promote propaganda of events and activities of Cua Lo tourist destination 2022 on channels of Vietnam Television, VTC, tourism publications, websites of the General Department of Tourism, Nghe An province, Cua Lo and tourism businesses. Update on website nghean.gov.vn, electronic information portal, on smartphones about events held in Cua Lo... With the determination in direction and consensus of each citizen, Cua Lo tourism will be a bright spot on the Vietnam tourism map, the choice of domestic and international tourists./.