Thong Nguyen commune is located where the flow of 3 large streams in the core area of Hoang Su Phi heritage (old) converges. This destination has majestic natural scenery, poetic terraced fields, the famous ancient snow sweet soup area of Phin Ho and the unique cultural identity of the Dao people.
Despite possessing rich resources to attract domestic and international tourists, Thong Nguyen still faces many challenges, especially in the context of the tourism industry facing rapid changes since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some major challenges include waste, environmental pollution risks from livestock and domestic wastewater, difficult transport infrastructure, lack of synchronous architectural planning... In particular, the local tourism industry has not yet fully exploited the potential of indigenous culture to create unique experiences for tourists, depending on the crop.
Recognizing the objective and subjective difficulties, local authorities believe that to develop Thong Nguyen into a key tourist area in the coming time, it is indispensable to have the cooperation of the business community. This is an issue raised at the Workshop on Responsible Tourism and Local Destination Development in Thong Nguyen Commune, Tuyen Quang Province on August 3.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Vu The Phuong, Chairman of Thong Nguyen Commune People's Committee, said: "Thong Nguyen currently only has revenue from the state budget, there is currently no other source of revenue, so we hope to have the cooperation of businesses".
From the side of businesses exploiting tourism products in Thong Nguyen, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hanh - General Director of Intrepid Vietnam shared: "Thong Nguyen has many good stories about culture and tourism. I think we need to change the way we tell stories, need to spread these beauties to the world. In particular, it is necessary to preserve local culture".
According to Mr. Hanh, sustainable tourism is about building a green economy, requiring the contribution of all parties. In addition, there are many sources of customers from countries around the world, tourism workers need to understand what customers want, and promote the model correctly to the source of customers.
Representative of the first green, sustainable resort in Thong Nguyen - Mr. Le Van Kien, General Director of Panhou Retreat affirmed: "Developing responsible tourism is not a communication story, but a way of daily operation: not breaking the ecosystem, not accelerating development at all costs, but persistently building a place that can preserve the landscape, culture and indigenous life for the future".
Agreeing with this view, Mr. Lai Quoc Tinh - Chairman of the Tuyen Quang Provincial Tourism Association - said that there needs to be direction from the government in tourism planning, avoiding the situation of "streets in the village" as many localities have emphasized, paying attention to tourism space and infrastructure.
He also emphasized the development of environmentally friendly tourism activities, preserving regional cultural identity. In particular, tourism needs to focus on people and promote to raise people's awareness of sustainable tourism.
Within the framework of the event, the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the People's Committee of Thong Nguyen Commune, Panhou Retreat Resort and international travel company Intrepid Vietnam took place.
The memorandum of understanding focuses on 4 core cooperation contents. To cooperate in protecting natural landscapes, the parties are committed to not illegally constructing, not destroying forests, and preserving the unique ecosystem.
Aiming to develop local human resources, the locality and businesses will coordinate to organize tourism skills training programs, prioritizing women and ethnic minority youth.
At the same time, the parties cooperated to restore the ecosystem by jointly implementing activities to plant native trees and green degraded areas.
In particular, tourism businesses will aim to build green tourism products, develop responsible cultural experience tours and trekking, and promote destinations to international markets.
The event was a turning point, marking a strong commitment to sustainable tourism development, with the expectation of building Thong Nguyen into a model of responsible tourism, in harmony between economic development, cultural preservation and environmental protection.
