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| A caravan group visited Hue while crossing Vietnam |
Embracing the trend
Along the "checking-in" routes of the caravan groups (a type of traveling by personal vehicle, in groups of 2 or more by road, passing through many regions or countries), Thua Thien Hue is one of the interesting stops. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is over, Thua Thien Hue has regularly welcomed caravan groups. In 2022, Hue welcomed a large caravan group with 70 vehicles (with 4 and 7 seats) and 250 visitors. The group departed from Tuyen Quang province, passed through many provinces and cities, and had many experiences in Hue. In 2023, a caravan group of 19 vehicles with 47 Thai visitors also chose Hue as a tourist destination when visiting Vietnam. In the first quarter of 2024, Thua Thien Hue welcomed from 6 to 7 caravan groups from Thailand and provinces and cities in the north and south regions.
In many countries around the world, the trend of caravan tourism has existed for a long time, which is popular in Europe as well as North America. In Vietnam, caravan tourism is gradually becoming more popular, as more and more people own their own vehicles, who are passionate about travel, and who want to experience driving on new roads, especially the beautiful roads passing through Thua Thien Hue.
The goal to welcome from 3.5 to 4 million visitors in 2024, of which domestic visitors account for about 60 - 70%; with the total tourism revenue is around 7,500 - 8,000 billion VND, and continuing to grow in the coming years, is not too far-fetched for Hue tourism, but it requires many solutions. In the context of many changes in tourism trends, exploiting and creating new, unique and attractive products, increasing the value of experiences are the works which the local tourism industry needs to aim for, and the caravan tourism trend is no exception.
In fact, Hue's travel businesses have also exploited products from the caravan tourism trend. Mr. Tran Quang Hao, Director of Huetourist, said that Huetourist Company once organized a caravan tour by personal vehicles for visitors in Hue City traveling to A Luoi. In the form of caravan tourism, visitors can take the initiative to plan their itinerary, have the opportunity to experience, conquer the roads themselves and experience the close-up of the unique local culture. The value from the caravan groups is a very good media effect.
According to many tourism experts, after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, visitors’ demands for exploring and experiencing tourism bounce back. The travel habits of many visitors have also changed as they want to take the initiative to plan their itinerary, have the opportunity to experience, conquer the roads themselves, admire the poetic scenery on both sides of the routes, leave the urban area to immerse themselves in nature, or combine volunteer programs, learn about local culture and help locals in the destinations with some activities that they have strengths in, etc., which are often not found in mass tours.
Thua Thien Hue has the advantage of landscape, which is also a favorable location for organizing caravan tours. Typically, A Luoi and Nam Dong provide challenging and highly exploratory routes, destinations with indigenous cultural characteristics, and a variety of homestay services. Besides, visitors are also able to explore the coastal routes, starting from the center of Hue City to Thuan An, Vinh Thanh, Loc Binh, and Canh Duong, connecting to Hai Van Pass. With services associated with the beaches, this is a route for groups of families, friends, and relatives to experience.
Looking for effective exploitation direction
To take advantage of and effectively exploit the potential and strengths of tourism, Thua Thien Hue has set the goal of developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector, creating momentum for economic growth and restructuring. In recent years, Thua Thien Hue tourism has made significant strides, but being compared to its existing potential and strengths, the development of Hue tourism has not yet reached its full potential. In addition to completing and improving the quality of existing tourism products, diversifying and exploiting new products that meet visitors’ demand is a necessary direction to attract visitors, including finding the direction to effectively exploit the caravan tourism trend.
In addition to organizing caravan tours to explore destinations within the province, with the current good development of tourism linkages, it is possible to expand the scale and duration of tours by connecting with Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Da Nang, and Quang Nam or by the Ho Chi Minh route, exploring the characteristics of mountainous districts in different localities; it is even possible to coordinate and organize exploration routes of Vietnam - Laos. According to Mr. Do Ngoc Co, Chairman of the Provincial Tourism Association, the characteristic of caravan tourism is to explore and experience new routes, crossing the country or traveling through many countries. Therefore, to create the efficiency, the linkages with many other localities can help to achieve the set goals.
Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Promotion Information Center, shared that the greatest value of caravan tourism was its excellent media effect. However, the difficulty is that the cost of organizing caravan tours is very high. The tours often go through Vietnam for many days, which require professional units with teams, support equipment and tools, and guide vehicles, etc. In addition, businesses must also be professional in handling emerging situations. For localities, to organize tours, they must go through many stages, from surveying destinations to building products, promoting and introducing; and then inviting and selling products to customers. Developing caravan tourism requires a long process with the cooperation of many parties, including management agencies, businesses, and the people.
The provincial tourism industry is continuing to research and complete tourism products, develop new tourism products based on customers’ demands, including the caravan tourism trend. In the near future, Hue will also well coordinate with departments, sectors, and localities to welcome domestic and international caravan groups, creating a positive media effect and bringing about many tourism development values.