Community tourism development: "Far" from potential

(Baonghean) - With the majestic and poetic landscape of Pu Mat National Park and the unique cultural and social life, Con Cuong has many advantages to develop tourism. The district has implemented a number of solutions and they have initially been effective. However, to attract and retain more tourists, the district needs to have a strategy with specific steps and methods.

Destination Ta Bo

We went to Nua village, Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong) to find out information about the Thai Lai Pao class taught by Mr. Vi Kham Mun, just when a group of tourists from Hanoi came to visit. The group leader, named Tran Bo, said that his group had more than 20 people, including retired officials from Ba Dinh district and their children, who were on this occasion exploring the Western part of Nghe An, and Con Cuong was the first stop. The group visited Khe Kem waterfall (Yen Khe), cruised up the Giang river to the headwaters of Khe Khang to learn about the life of the Dan Lai ethnic group. Then they went around to visit the Mon Son Handicraft Cooperative, went to Yen Khe to explore some caves and stopped to bathe in Nuoc Moc stream (Ta Bo). Coming to Nua village, the capital's visitors wanted to enjoy typical dishes and performances imbued with the identity of the Thai people.

Brocade weaving in Mon Son commune

...Since the afternoon, the Nua villagers have sent people to pick sticky rice, dye leaves, make rice and prepare specialties such as cool fish, mooc sausage, grilled chicken, and ot soup... In the middle of the house, guests and hosts gathered around the rice trays, enjoying traditional dishes while chatting sincerely. The guests took turns asking about the preparation and nutritional benefits of each dish. Ms. Lo Thi Hoa, the host, came to welcome the tray and introduced each dish in detail. Then the sounds of gongs, flutes, and pi began to resound, and traditional folk songs and dances were skillfully performed by members of the Nua Village Folk Song and Musical Instrument Club. Under the moonlight, guests from Hanoi joined in the Lam Vong dance and the Sap dance, and enjoyed the aroma of Can wine.

The exchange ended, the tourists stayed overnight at the stilt house in the village. The stilt house of Ms. Lo Thi Hoa's family was chosen as one of two places to stay for tourists in Nua village. Talking to us, the tourists praised the scenery here as both majestic and poetic; some villages still retain their traditional and pristine features; the dishes are rich in identity; the traditional weaving profession is still passed down and the people are very sincere and simple. In particular, they really like the sound of the Khen Be, like the melodies of the river, although they do not really understand, the sound and melody have something interesting and strangely attractive while the price is cheap, suitable for many people's budget.

However, Mr. Tran Bo said: “Before that, the group did not know about the tourism potential in this area until being introduced by a friend in Vinh City. But looking up information on the Internet, there was only sketchy information, there was no separate website to promote. Along the way, there were very few signs or billboards advertising tourist attractions, if there were, they were very small so it was difficult to recognize. For Nghe An people, it was nothing to say, but for people from other places, it was quite difficult to find the way. It is expected that the next day, the group will continue to go up to explore the beauty of Ban Ve Hydropower Lake (Tuong Duong), then cross the "heavenly gate" to learn about the life and typical climate of Muong Long (Ky Son). Up there, everyone will continue to "discover" the way themselves, without a guide."

Khe Nuoc Moc (Ta Bo) in Yen Khe commune.

Concerns

Con Cuong currently has at least 3 villages recognized by UNESCO as community tourism destinations, including Nua village (Yen Khe), Xieng village (Mon Son) and Yen Thanh village (Luc Da). In terms of cultural space, each village has certain strengths and limitations. Nua village has many ancient stilt houses, ideal accommodation and a professionally operating Folk Song - Musical Instrument Club. However, the limitation of Nua village is that the traditional brocade weaving profession is no longer popular, there are no longer looms on the porch of the stilt houses, so it has lost some of its original beauty. As for Xieng village, in recent years the brocade weaving profession has been restored and developed very quickly, the products are quite rich in types and designs. However, there are very few ancient stilt houses here, so the typical space of the Thai ethnic village is not much left. Not to mention that Xieng village has almost no accommodation for tourists. Yen Thanh village still retains many ancient stilt houses and brocade weaving, but cultural and artistic performances are limited and there are not many places to stay, so it has not attracted tourists. In short, the three community tourism spots mentioned above are not complete and perfect in terms of village cultural space for tourists to learn, explore and experience.

In 2013, the District People's Committee issued the Project "Preserving, maintaining and promoting the cultural identity of the Thai ethnic group in the period of 2013 - 2017 (up to 2020)" with an estimated budget of about 7 billion VND. The objective of the project is to preserve the values ​​of Thai cultural identity and contribute to the socio-economic development of the locality. The content of the project includes many items, including the collection of folk songs, folk dances and the replication of the club model associated with the development of community tourism. At the same time, preserving costumes, brocade weaving and traditional occupations; preserving and restoring stilt houses in the ancient architectural style of the people. Along with that, a number of villages are selected to preserve and restore the pure cultural space of the Thai ethnic group to avoid the risk of losing its unique features and attracting tourists. However, Mr. Nguyen Huy Chuong - Head of the District Department of Culture and Information affirmed: "Although Con Cuong district has promoted the work of preserving national cultural identity to develop community tourism, create jobs, and improve people's lives, the results achieved are still not commensurate with the potential. During the implementation process, we have realized the limitations. That is, the traditional cultural space has not been restored and perfected, the human resources have not been properly trained, the promotion has not been widespread and there is no specific and long-term development plan...".

Thus, it can be seen that the tourism potential of Con Cuong is very diverse and attractive, but the promotion has not really been focused on, so many tourists still do not know about Con Cuong. There are no professional tour guides to guide tourists. Next, tourism activities are still individual, there is no connection between the Western districts located on the same route to create an attractive tour.

Article and photos:Cong Kien