Tourism links between 4 provinces in the North Central region: "Gold mine" yet to be exploited

Still each for himself
The tourism potential of the 4 provinces of the North Central region is assessed to have many similarities, close customs and practices, friendly and hospitable local people. The North Central region is known for its beautiful beaches such as: Sam Son, Cua Lo, Thien Cam, Nhat Le...; along with a system of historical relics associated with the names of great men who have made the country famous such as: President Ho Chi Minh, Great Poet Nguyen Du, General Vo Nguyen Giap...

In particular, the region also has many scenic spots whose poetic beauty has been written into poetry, and is home to many world cultural heritages such as: Ho Dynasty Citadel (Thanh Hoa), Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (Quang Binh), Nghe Tinh Vi - Giam folk songs (Nghe An, Ha Tinh), Truong Luu woodblocks (Ha Tinh)... This close proximity in potential is an important advantage, each province becomes an essential "link" to promote regional tourism development.

Truong Bon relic site - one of the typical destinations in the cultural, historical and spiritual tourism tour along the 4 provinces of the North Central region. Photo: Sy Minh

Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Director of Nghe An Department of Tourism pointed out: "The form, content and cooperation activities are still monotonous and lack depth, so the spread is not high. Some contents in the cooperation plan have not been implemented such as human resource development, building common development policy mechanisms for the 4 provinces. Along with that, there is no brand identity to position the destinations of the 4 provinces; the budget allocated for cooperation activities is still limited and unstable".
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Ky - Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of Quang Binh province said that the weakness in connection is shown in many aspects. In recent years, the 4 provinces have been more or less affected by the marine environmental incident, directly affecting the tourism industry, but due to the lack of connection, there is no common voice to propose a support policy for tourism to overcome difficulties. Besides, in terms of the quality of tourism human resources, all 4 provinces have limitations in foreign languages. "However, although there is a plan to cooperate in developing human resources, we have not sat down together to see if there is any solution to overcome it, how to work with training institutions" - Mr. Ky said.

In 2017, the four provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Quang Binh only coordinated to organize a joint booth at the Vietnam International Tourism Fair - VITM Hanoi 2017; participated in the International Tourism Fair ITE Ho Chi Minh City; launched the market of Thai and third-country tourists through Thailand by air on the international flight Dong Hoi - Chiang Mai... These activities have not had much impact on the tourism development results of each province, mainly still relying on "self-promotion".

Towards common development
Quoting the famous saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”, the head of Nghe An Department of Tourism, Nguyen Manh Cuong, emphasized that it is time for the provinces to really “join hands” with each other, not only in the fields of human resource training, information exchange, financial support, promotional cooperation, and event organization, but on a larger scale, cooperation is the basis for development planning, in order to create unique products that do not overlap and can complement each other.

Regarding tourism products, Mr. Cuong expressed his opinion that the common point of the 4 provinces is sea tourism, but it is necessary to research and develop specific sea tourism products in each locality, creating diversity and difference, avoiding boredom for tourists. From there, sea tourism will be the main highlight in designing the common tourism brand identity of the 4 provinces.

A group of Thai tourists visit Nghia Dan sunflower field. Photo: Vuong Bang

Regarding the tourist market, domestically, Northern tourists are considered the key market; internationally, the four provinces agreed on the target of exploiting Thai and Chinese tourists. Ms. Vuong Thi Hai Yen - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hoa province, Head of the Coordination Board for Tourism Development of Thanh Hoa - Nghe An - Ha Tinh - Quang Binh in 2018 affirmed that in order to exploit the markets effectively and sustainably, avoiding the situation of "eating quickly" and "playing alone", there must be a common determination and orientation to see this as a front for "general attack".

Accordingly, the "Central Heritage Road" tourist route from Ho Dynasty Citadel to Phong Nha - Ke Bang will continue to be developed and the "Following the footsteps of famous people and heroes" tour will be built through 4 provinces. Along with that, promoting connections and developing road tourism products for Lao and Thai tourists through Cha Lo border gate (Quang Binh), Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh), Nam Can border gate (Nghe An), Na Meo border gate (Thanh Hoa) through 4 localities, in which priority will be given to caravan tours.

Along with that, we are building common cultural - historical and spiritual tourism products for domestic tourists such as the legendary Ho Chi Minh trail: Ham Rong Bridge - Truong Bon - Dong Loc Junction - Hang Tam Co and Road 20 Quyet Thang - Long Dai Ferry; spiritual cultural tourism routes such as Song Temple - Uncle Ho's Hometown - Cui Temple - Lieu Hanh Holy Mother Temple - General Vo Nguyen Giap's Tomb...

Another product that is also planned to be developed in 2018 is a bicycle and motorbike tour from Hanoi and the northern provinces through 4 localities - suitable for young people who are passionate about new and experiential travel. Regarding the Chinese tourist market, in 2017, Nghe An had trips to explore and open up the market in Kunming and Chengdu (China). In 2018, if there is strategic cooperation between the 4 provinces, this will certainly be a "gold mine" bringing in high revenue and profits.

In 2017, the number of tourists visiting the four provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh reached more than 19.7 million, an increase of 35.75% compared to 2016, of which international visitors reached more than 450,000, an increase of 71.25% compared to 2016.