Digital conversion journey - Enhancing the festival, preserving heritage

Transfer in festival management

Huong Son population belongs to Huong Son commune, My Duc district, Hanoi was built in the Le Thanh Tong dynasty (1442 - 1497), after many renovation and repair, so far retaining the value of history. , the landscape and has contributed to the unique and diversified culture of Vietnamese Buddhism. The People's Committee of Hanoi has just decided to recognize the special national monument of Huong Son population (Huong pagoda) as a city -level tourist area.

For a long time, the Huong Pagoda Festival has been a familiar destination for millions of tourists every year. However, before the technology was applied, this festival often encountered many serious problems. Traffic congestion, pushing at the ticketing points, difficulties in managing the flow of people and insecurity have reduced the experience of visitors. Even the lack of transparency in ticket sales and financial management also causes much controversy. These issues not only affect the prestige of the festival but also pose a big challenge in preserving and developing the cultural values ​​of the Huong Pagoda relics.

Recognizing those inadequacies, the Organizing Committee of the Huong Pagoda Festival decided to apply technology to the management and implementation of the festival's activities. Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc - Deputy Director of Huong Pagoda Tourism Service Cooperative - said: “This year, thanks to the issuance of electronic tickets, the cooperative has no longer pulling guests and pressing prices. The boats are ranked, the boat owners have higher income, evenly in terms of income. In 2024, there was still a situation where some boat owners were ranked more guests, but this year, the organizers have arranged visitors by machine, ensuring fairness. Apply electronic tickets to help transparently, publicize ticket prices, including children's tickets, avoid disputes about fares. Before operating, the Management Board spends time to guide and support members to access technology. ”

With the number of guests up to millions of people, ensuring security and order for tourists is a top priority in the festive seasons of Huong Pagoda. The surveillance camera system is installed at large gathering points to help the functional forces promptly detect and handle disruptive acts, ensuring safety for visitors. At Huong Pagoda, more than 4,000 boats are strictly managed, fully equipped with life jackets, garbage baskets, sunshades and free drinking water. The boatman has a private QR code for visitors to respond to service attitude, contributing to improving service quality.

The situation of buying tickets and storks shouting costs is an obsession for tourists when coming to big festivals such as Huong Pagoda has gradually been thoroughly resolved thanks to the application of technology. Not only Huong Pagoda, many other big festivals in Hanoi such as Soc Temple, Sai Temple ... also apply technology to improve the quality of experience for visitors. The system of electronic signs, smart garbage collection stations, automatic public toilets are arranged dense, creating a civilized and modern festival space.

Another highlight of the application of technology at the Huong Pagoda Festival is the deployment of mobile applications that support information for visitors. Through these applications, visitors can easily look up the festival schedule, map of attractions, information about food and drink services, rest and even weather forecasts. Some applications also integrate the virtual tour guide function, helping visitors better understand the history, culture and spiritual meaning of Huong Pagoda without the need for the support of traditional guides. This not only enhances the experience of visitors but also helps reduce the pressure on the service staff at the festival.

Efforts to create civilization and modernity in heritage management

Not only stopping at the Huong Pagoda Festival, the story of applying technology to management and development of heritage is also replicated in many other localities across the country. In Hoi An, the smart lighting system and virtual reality applications (AR) have been deployed to recreate ancient cultural space, bringing a unique experience for visitors. Or as the Monuments Conservation Center Hue has deployed the system of smart interactive stations at the relics.

Equipped with NFC technology, visitors only need to touch the phone to the physical table to be able to explore the unique historical and cultural stories of each destination through images, videos and vivid models. Acting as a "digital tour guide", each smart interaction station provides a variety of utilities and necessary support, and at the same time linking together to form a map of cultural and heritage experience, promise Appointment to bring the journey to explore the ancient capital of Hue full of appeal and unique.

The story of Huong Pagoda Festival, in Hoi An, Hoang Thanh Hue is a clear evidence that technology can bring positive changes in managing and implementing festive and di activities Production. From reducing the pressure load for the organizers, improving the experience of visitors, to preserving and promoting cultural values, technology has proven its important role in modernizing festivals. Tradition, heritage to attract tourists.