Experiencing local life attracts international visitors
Instead of just visiting famous scenic spots, more and more international tourists are coming to Vietnam to experience local life through activities that seem very familiar to local people.
During a trip to Thai Nguyen, Ms. Sarah Johnson (Australian tourist) said that her most memorable experience was being able to pick tea buds, stir-fry tea and learn about the process of making traditional tea batches with local people.
I never thought I would pick tea myself on the hill and then participate in the processing stages. The job requires meticulousness and patience, but it helps me understand more about tea culture as well as the life of Vietnamese people. This is the most memorable experience in the trip," Ms. Sarah shared.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lucas Martin (French tourist) said that he especially loves the tour and experience at Thanh Ha pottery village (Da Nang).
I personally sculpted pottery and listened to artisans tell about the hundreds of years of the craft village. Such experiences make me feel closer to Vietnamese culture instead of just standing from afar to observe," said Lucas Martin.
Maintain local identity to retain international visitors
According to Mr. Bui Thanh Tu - Marketing Director of BestPrice Travel Company, this is one of the prominent trends of international tourism in recent years.
International tourists today no longer want to just look at destinations. They want to directly participate in local life, to make products themselves and understand the cultural story behind each experience," Mr. Tu shared.
Grasping that need, many travel businesses have built agricultural and craft village tours with many practical experience activities.
Activities such as farming or gardening bring a very new feeling to international visitors, especially tourists from major cities in Europe, Australia or the United States. They consider this an opportunity to better understand the life and culture of Vietnamese people," said Mr. Bui Thanh Tu.
Many tours take tourists to pottery villages to sculpt products themselves, visit handicraft incense making facilities or experience the process of producing Do paper - a type of paper associated with many traditional cultural values of Vietnam," said the tourism expert.
According to Mr. Tu, the difference of Vietnam lies in the original nature of local life.
International tourists really like to hear artisans tell stories about their profession, to make each step themselves and bring products created by themselves as souvenirs. Those are experiences that they hardly find on mass tours," Mr. Bui Thanh Tu shared.
According to the expert, in the context of increasing demand for experiential tourism, indigenous cultural values, traditional craft villages and rural life are not only tourism resources but also Vietnam's unique advantages. Reasonable exploitation, associated with preservation, will contribute to improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism in the international market.
