Cultural behavior in tourism activities

(Baonghean) - In tourism activities, the diversity, richness and liveliness of culture is an important factor to attract tourists. Culture in tourism is not only material and spiritual cultural values ​​but also civilized behavior, creating a friendly and safe tourism environment. In recent years, behavioral culture in tourism has been focused on by departments, sectors and localities, creating a positive impact on the results of tourism activities.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vinh City, I met Mr. Nelson James Russell - an American teacher on a business trip at the ASEM International English Center when he and a Vietnamese colleague were walking on the sidewalk of Tran Phu Street. After a few greetings, I asked: "What impressed you most about Vinh City?". Friendliness and hospitality are what Mr. Russell used to talk about the people of Vinh City. Along with the increasing standard of living, the cultural and spiritual life of the city's people has also improved a lot, accordingly, the culture of behavior in general and behavior towards tourists in particular has also had many positive changes.

Mr. Bui Quang Phuong - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Vinh City said: "Currently, the city has many attractive scenic spots such as Quyet Mountain Park and Phuong Hoang Trung Do, Uncle Ho Monument and Ho Chi Minh Square, Hong Son Temple, Can Linh Pagoda, Vinh Ancient Citadel... In addition, Vinh is also a stopover for many tourists when visiting and relaxing at tourist attractions in neighboring areas such as Kim Lien Relic Site, Cua Lo Beach, Hoang Muoi Temple, Thien Cam Beach... Oriented to become one of the tourist centers of the North Central region, the relevant departments and branches of the city have made many efforts to raise awareness of tourism culture. Every year, the Department of Culture and Information of the city coordinates with the Department of Tourism Affairs - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Center for Tourism Information and Promotion to organize 3-4 training sessions for restaurants, hotels, tourism businesses and cultural officers of wards and communes on tourism affairs and culture, including: Special attention is paid to the behavior of tourists.

Ho Chi Minh Square is one of the main tourist attractions in Vinh City. Tourists coming here, in addition to sightseeing, often stop by music stores to buy Nghe folk songs or songs about Nghe - Tinh. Mr. Nguyen Vo An - owner of a music store on Ho Tung Mau Street said: "In the summer, my store has about 50-60 tourists from other provinces coming to shop every day. In recent years, every year, the cultural officers of the ward have come to the stores along this street to propagate and remind sellers like us to behave civilly and politely with tourists, not to discriminate between customers from Nghe and tourists from other provinces and cities. We are also aware that only civility and politeness in business and communication can create a good impression with customers in general and tourists in particular, thereby making business more favorable."

As for Cua Lo Beach Town - a key tourist destination of the province, although the tourist season has ended, the good impressions of a civilized and friendly tourist destination still remain in the hearts of many visitors from near and far. Having paid the price for the "quick-fix" and "grab-and-grab" business style of many kiosks, restaurants and hotels in the area, the authorities, departments and branches of Cua Lo Town are very concerned and have proposed many measures to attract and retain tourists, focusing on behavioral culture.

The first highlight is that the town has developed a plan and directed localities, agencies and units to focus on propaganda and mobilization work to encourage people to implement the 5 no's policy (no price gouging; no soliciting and clinging to customers; no massage or street vending; no harming the environment; no disturbing public order and safety).

Tour guide leads foreign tourists to Nghe An. Photo: Can Dung

Along with administrative measures, the town also focuses on organizing training courses on behavioral culture and some tourism experiences of other localities for workers directly working in tourism services in the area. In particular, during the 2013 tourist season, the town built 6 civilized restaurants to create a highlight for Cua Lo tourism. The restaurants selected as spots must ensure the following criteria: the service staff is professionally trained, enthusiastic and cultured; the services are guaranteed quality; there is a public price list and no price gouging, no harm to the environment; facilities and security are always guaranteed... From there, a "civilized business movement" was created among restaurants and hotels. This has created an increasingly better impression on tourists. In the first 8 months of 2013, there were nearly 2 million tourists coming to Cua Lo, of which nearly 1.3 million stayed overnight, revenue from tourism activities is estimated at nearly 1,250 billion VND.

In addition to Kim Lien relic site, in recent years, Nam Dan district has developed many other tourist attractions such as Vua Mai temple (Nam Dan town), Dai Tue pagoda (Nam Anh commune) ... where there is interaction between tourists and local people. According to Mr. Ho Anh Mai - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Nam Dan district, in recent times, the Department of Culture has organized training for cultural officers and advised the People's Committees of the above localities to propagate and educate people to behave culturally with tourists, to rectify the situation of "ripping off" in parking services, selling souvenirs and forms of gambling during festival activities.

For tourists, in addition to wanting to immerse themselves in nature, admire the beauty of landscapes and landscapes or explore and learn about relics, they also want to learn about the unique cultural beauty of the destinations. The culture of behavior towards tourists is what determines whether tourists want to come back next time or not. Therefore, a locality with a tourist destination, even though it is still poor in terms of economy, the local community cannot be "poor" in culture, cannot lack politeness, cannot lack civilization... Building and preserving unique beauty in behavior and communication with tourists plays a very important role in creating a beautiful image of the land and people of Nghe An.

Minh Quan