New Opportunity
Before the merger, Bac Kan province (old) identified tourism as a spearhead economy thanks to its great potential for historical and ecological tourism development; Thai Nguyen (old) also identified tourism as an important economic sector with potential for historical and agricultural tourism and many entertainment areas. Now, Thai Nguyen has the "resonance" of the potential and strengths of the two regions.
When mentioning Thai Nguyen, we must mention historical tourism with the title "Capital of the Thousand Winds" with the relics of Dinh Hoa and Cho Don Safe Zones. During the historical process of resistance against the French, both places bore the mark of the activities of the Party, State agencies and beloved Uncle Ho. New opportunities with the historical tourism "corridor" connecting from Dinh Hoa, Cho Don to Tan Trao (Tuyen Quang) have opened up.
According to Dr. Le Quang Dang (Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism), the tourism development space of Thai Nguyen province is now larger. The province has 4 strengths including: Ecological and natural tourism resources; cultural, historical and revolutionary tourism; agricultural and rural tourism; community tourism associated with ethnic minorities in the highlands.
That diversity gives Thai Nguyen an advantage to “hold” tourists longer. After a journey from Hanoi to the center of Thai Nguyen province in just about an hour, tourists can start with historical tourism, visit Nui Coc Lake, experience tea tourism, go up Cau River to Ba Be Lake, experience entertainment areas…
In addition, Thai Nguyen is a land with the most abundant and diverse natural and cultural resources in northern Vietnam, with thousands of historical, cultural and scenic sites; of which, there are 3 relics ranked at the special national level; 67 relics ranked at the national level and 316 relics ranked at the provincial level; 43 national intangible cultural heritages and many places ranked as "red addresses".
According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung (Viet Bac College of Culture and Arts), with a rich treasure of intangible cultural heritage, Thai Nguyen has a wide open tourism space. This is a favorable condition for the formation of in-depth tourist routes and destinations such as: Eco-tourism, culture in Ba Be and An Toan Khu relic sites; community tourism and development of spaces for performing folk art such as Tinh lute, dry puppetry, luong singing, etc.
Thai Nguyen is also the land with the strongest lake tourism resource system in the region with Ba Be, Nui Coc, and Ghenh Che lakes. In addition, Thai Hai Ethnic Ecological Stilt House Village Conservation Area was recognized by the World Tourism Organization as one of the 32 "Best Tourist Villages in the World" in 2022 and one of the first two 5-star OCOP tourism products nationwide. Along with that, the province also has community and rural tourism destinations associated with the natural beauty on the eastern slopes of Tam Dao, Ba Be National Park, and poetic tea regions.
According to Director of Hanoi Tourism and Media Development Joint Stock Company Ha Minh Cuong, Thai Nguyen has ideal conditions for eco-tourism, relaxation and exploration. With a developed transportation network, close to Hanoi capital, easy connection with neighboring provinces, this is a potential tourism market.
Potential resonance
According to the Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province, Duong Xuan Hung, the merger is not simply an accumulation, but a resonance of tourism resources of the two former provinces. Exploiting this potential is an important task for Thai Nguyen. In the first week of operation, despite the busy work, Thai Nguyen organized a seminar to assess the potential and suggest solutions for tourism development.
Recently, Route Inn Group from Japan decided to invest nearly 400 billion VND to build Route Inn Grand Thai Nguyen hotel with 14 floors, 350 rooms, with Japanese standard amenities, combining Vietnamese and Japanese culture.
Thai Nguyen is also making efforts to diversify its tourism products to position its own brand. In 2025, tourism products associated with tea culture and the Hanoi-Thai Nguyen railway will officially launch.
An effective method being implemented by Thai Nguyen is to combine tourism development with agriculture, specifically tea. In the midland communes of Thai Nguyen, there are currently 34 agricultural and service cooperatives combining tourism in tea production. These cooperatives have created a unique tourism model with a total capital of more than 350 billion VND, creating jobs for more than 1,000 members and nearly 700 workers. Thai Nguyen tea region attracts thousands of tourists to visit, experience and stay every year.
The biggest difficulty for Thai Nguyen at present is that tourism products are still poor; tourists are mainly domestic, few international visitors; tourism infrastructure and transportation are limited; tourism human resources are lacking and weak. Therefore, according to Dr. Le Quang Dang, what needs to be done now is that the province should reorganize the tourism development space; reorient the tourism product system; reposition the tourism market and reshape the way of doing tourism.
One of the core issues is to complete the traffic infrastructure. Currently, the Hanoi-Thai Nguyen expressway has degraded, while traffic connections to scenic spots are also difficult. The province is focusing on directing the completion of the remaining part of the Ba Be Lake road project, connecting to Na Hang (Tuyen Quang), coordinating with Project Management Board 2 (Ministry of Construction) to speed up the progress of the Cho Moi-Bac Kan expressway project. Thai Nguyen also proposed that the Central Government pay attention to investing in upgrading the Hanoi-Thai Nguyen expressway from 4 to 6 lanes; investing in the construction of the Thai Nguyen-Cao Bang expressway; and expanding the Thai Nguyen-Cho Moi road.
According to Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Ha Van Sieu, Thai Nguyen's position on the tourism map does not match its potential. Therefore, the province must perfect its tourism development policy; plan and reposition tourism according to a new vision and new stature, prioritize infrastructure investment, synchronize digital transformation and promote promotion to the world.
Currently, Thai Nguyen has determined to focus on building 4 tourism product lines associated with Tea culture including: Cultural, spiritual, historical, and origin tourism; Eco-tourism, resort tourism; Community and rural tourism; MICE tourism (tourism combined with conferences), sports, and adventure cave exploration. The goal is to bring tourism to double-digit growth in the coming time.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/khong-gian-du-lich-rong-mo-o-thu-do-gio-ngan-post893750.html
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