Many services "flourish" during the festive season.

D"Ancillary services" during peak season

Nghe An currently has nearly 2,500 historical and cultural relics and scenic spots; of which nearly 500 have been classified, including 4 special national relics. Every spring, from the first day of Tet to the full moon of the first lunar month, and even extending until the end of the third lunar month, many spiritual destinations such as Qua Son Temple, Corn Temple, Bach Ma Temple, Cuong Temple, Ong Hoang Muoi Temple, Dai Tue Pagoda, etc., are always bustling with visitors from all over. The sharp increase in visitors in a short period of time has created a vibrant "ecosystem" of services that thrive during the festival season.

At Quả Sơn Temple (Bạch Ngọc commune), the atmosphere of pilgrimage is always at its peak. Parking lots around the temple quickly fill up, requiring increased staff to manage and organize traffic. On weekends, the influx of vehicles is overwhelming, forcing local authorities to constantly direct traffic to prevent congestion. This crowding has led to a surge in services surrounding the temple.

Ms. Nguyen Thi H., a resident who provides parking services near the temple, said that on busy days, her family can earn 3-4 million VND per day. “After deducting rent and labor costs, we still have a stable profit. The festival season lasts more than a month, and this is almost the main source of income for my family,” she shared. On average, each parking spot receives 400-600 vehicles per day; the listed price is 5,000 VND per motorbike and 20,000-25,000 VND per car per visit.

The constant stream of people coming and going keeps the area around the temple bustling and lively. The heat of the crowds also spreads to the area selling offerings. Along the entrance to Quả Sơn Temple, stalls selling incense, flowers, cakes, betel nuts, and votive paper are quite busy.

Considered the most sacred of the four famous sacred temples in Nghe An province ("First Cờn, second Quả, third Bạch Mã, fourth Chiêu Trưng"), Cờn Temple (Quynh Mai ward) was bustling with tourists in the early days of the Year of the Horse. The lively atmosphere extended not only within the temple grounds but also along the coastal roads leading to the temple. Food services, especially grilled herring served with rice noodles, became a major attraction.

These days, the area around the temple is ablaze with fire from early morning. Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan, who has been selling hot steamed rice rolls and grilled herring for nearly 10 years, said that January is always the busiest time. "On average, I grill 80-100 kg of herring every day to serve customers. Sometimes it's so busy that I can't grill fast enough, and customers have to wait. But that's only during the first month of the year and on holidays and weekends; on regular days, I sell about 15 kg of fish per day," she said.

On a larger scale, the Ong Hoang Muoi Temple (Hung Nguyen commune) recorded a surge in visitors in the first days of January. According to preliminary statistics from the temple's management board, in early Spring 2026, the site welcomed tens of thousands of people coming to offer incense and pray for good fortune. The roads leading to the temple and the grounds were constantly crowded. Along with this, supporting services flourished. Besides parking and selling offerings, services such as writing prayer scrolls, guiding rituals, and preparing complete offerings operated continuously.

The price for writing prayer scrolls ranges from 20,000 to 50,000 VND per piece; complete offering packages cost from several hundred thousand to over 1 million VND depending on the scale. Photography and videography services for New Year's souvenirs are also booming; each set of photos costs 200,000-500,000 VND, and one photographer can take 3-5 sets per day during peak season.

Tighten management

Amidst the rapidly increasing number of visitors, many historical sites are opting for transparent and flexible approaches to both facilitate local businesses and maintain civilized festival traditions. At Ba Co Temple (Truong Vinh Ward), parking is free; offerings are neatly arranged and clearly priced. Visitors choose their offerings and voluntarily put money into the donation box.

Mr. Le Cuong, the temple caretaker, said that the management board considers transparency to be the core element in building trust. “We don’t allow any soliciting or coercion to use services. Prices must be clear, and those who need them do so voluntarily. We operate strictly but flexibly so as not to affect the solemnity of the historical site,” he said. According to Mr. Cuong, thanks to this approach, there have been no negative complaints from tourists for many years.

At the local level, the People's Committee of Quynh Mai Ward has proactively developed a plan for managing the festival season at Corn Temple. Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of the ward, said that the local authorities, in coordination with the Temple Management Board, organized training for business owners; rearranged parking areas; and required public price listing. Parking fees are 5,000 VND per motorbike and 18,000 VND per car; writing prayer scrolls costs 15,000 VND per piece. "The ward's stance is to create conditions for people to conduct legitimate business, but absolutely to prevent price gouging, soliciting, or disorderly conduct," Ms. Ha emphasized.

At the provincial level, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued guidelines on organizing festivals in a way that is economical, safe, and civilized; requiring localities to develop traffic flow plans, arrange centralized parking areas, control service prices, and prevent the emergence of spontaneous businesses within the historical site grounds. The overarching principle is to develop spiritual tourism in conjunction with preserving the value of historical sites and building a standardized festival environment.

In reality, when the surge in visitor numbers is anticipated and proactively managed, the vibrancy of related services is no longer a concern for overcrowding but becomes a driving force for the local economy. The festival season thus preserves its inherent sacredness while creating livelihoods for the people, contributing to building the image of Nghe An as a civilized and friendly spiritual destination in the eyes of tourists from all over the world.