Thai farmers do community tourism

(Baonghean.vn) - Khe Ran(Bong Khe, Con Cuong, Nghe An) is known as an attractive tourist destination.partly thanks to farmers who have learned and know how to 'do' tourism.

Located less than 1km from the center of Con Cuong town, on the banks of the poetic Lam River, with over 100 households, mainly Thai people living there for a long time, Khe Ran is 1 of 4 villages chosen by Con Cuong district as a place to build a community tourism village.

Khe Ran village is one of four villages chosen by Con Cuong district to develop community tourism. Photo: Ba Hau

Originally farmers, accustomed to farming, now "doing" tourism, the people are surprised and worried. However, thanks to guidance and self-study, up to now, most of the people are confident when welcoming guests.

Khe Ran village management board has determined that it must first fully exploit the traditional cultural values ​​that are local strengths, from culinary dishes to customs, beliefs, festivals, folk games, etc.

From here, the village has established two tourism art troupes. During the day, their hands and feet are covered in mud, but at night, Thai girls, in their sparkling Thai costumes, perform xoe dances to serve tourists.

Tourists join in the xoe dance and share a cup of rice wine with Thai girls. Photo: Ba Hau

In addition to enjoying the arts, when coming to Khe Ran village, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in jars of rice wine, directly participate in embroidery and weaving activities, and cook traditional Thai dishes.

The village also established a culinary service team specializing in serving tourists with typical Thai dishes. The service team, with the participation of 12 women members in the village, can serve groups of 60-70 people at a time.

Typical Thai ethnic cuisine is also an attractive feature when coming to Khe Ran. Photo: Ba Hau

The most crowded time for visitors to Khe Ran is during holidays, Tet or weekends. On those days, many households are almost fully booked with customers ordering specialties. Ms. Ha Thi Sam, head of the Khe Ran cooking service team, said: “Dyeing sticky rice, bamboo rice, crispy grilled fish marinated with spices, buffalo skin soup, grilled meat, grilled fish… are traditional dishes of the Thai people that are very popular with tourists and are always “sold out”.

To help people know how to do professional tourism, every year Con Cuong district also organizes training courses on skills to introduce and promote ethnic culture and cuisine, and share experiences in the process of doing tourism...

Awareness of tourism has been raised, Khe Ran people actively participate in cleaning village roads and alleys to welcome visitors. Photo: Ba Hau

Mr. Lo Van Thang, Head of Khe Ran village, said that since doing tourism, people's awareness has changed a lot. Village roads, alleys, and the environment are always kept clean and beautiful. The good news is that thanks to tourism, there has been a certain initial source of income, gradually changing the lives of the people here.

Recognizing that community tourism has created jobs and contributed to improving their material and spiritual lives, every villager actively participates, from spreading and learning how to embroider scarves and weave fabrics, to performing Thai folk songs, actively collecting to introduce and promote unique ethnic cultural features...

What makes tourists interested in staying in Khe Ran village is not only enjoying traditional Thai dishes, but also living in a friendly, happy atmosphere, getting along with the host family and learning about Thai culture through stories and daily activities with the locals.

Queen