Prospects from educational tours

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Cam (in pink), lecturer of the Faculty of Tourism guides students in an educational tour

A new experience

In early 2018, the Faculty of Tourism launched a pilot educational tour. Compared to the previous trials, this tour was carefully planned in close connection with tourist destinations. The itinerary started from the Imperial Academy (Quoc Tu Giam) to the Temple of Literature (Van Thanh), Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Hue, Hue University, Quoc Hoc Hue High School and Hai Ba Trung High School.

These places are associated with the nation’s different historical periods, thus allowing visitors to experience and learn about the ancient capital's culture, history, people and traditional passion for learning.

For example, in Quoc Tu Giam, visitors are given information about the only existing tertiary educational institution of feudal monarchies in Vietnam. This is a historic and cultural relic of remarkable value, listed among the world heritages along with the monument complex of the Nguyen Dynasty.

The Temple of Literature (Van Thanh) is a unique symbol of Vietnamese education in the feudal regime. The construction of the Temple of Literature and the establishment of stone steles on which doctoral graduates had their names engraved signify the nation’s respect for learning and talents.

Students of the Faculty of Tourism go on an educational tour at the Temple of Literature (Van Thanh)

If the two aforementioned destinations are symbols of feudal education, then Hue University, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted and Hai Ba Trung High School represent a continuation of the nation’s traditional thirst for learning in the modern times. 

Over 60 years, Hue University has been long known for being an academic institution for education and training talents of the country. Quoc Hoc High School, with its history of more than 120 years, is renowned as a place where Uncle used to study and fight against the French colonialism. And Hai Ba Trung High School, once named Dong Khanh, has established its name and image in poetry. The tour itinerary combining these three sites is facilitated by their adjacent locations on Le Loi street.

A student from the Faculty of Tourism, Tran Viet Man, says that in the view of youngsters today, tourism means exploring attractive landscapes. But if the sheer purpose of tourism just stops there, students will ignore the value of learning about cultural and historical values. In fact, educational tours also extend and deepen students’ knowledge. Therefore, this new educational approach opens up new opportunities for those who take interest in discovering destinations with rich historical and human values.

Prospects

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Cam, Head of Travel Department in charge of this tour, denotes that general guiding skills involves students’ communication, guidance, and problem-solving skills. This educational tour offers mainly hands-on experiences, so students acquire skills quickly. This is also an urgent demand from the tourism sector today.

Le Quy Thien, a student at the Faculty of Tourism, admits that, in the educational tour, the learners play the role of tour guides to explore and brief about the tourist destinations. The precious value retained after these lively lessons is the practical experience to apply to work after graduation.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Tourism, this form of educational tour is not new in developed countries with long established and renowned education system in the world. Yet for the first time, educational tours have been implemented in Hue after thorough investigation into the locality’s special features. 

In the coming time, the Faculty of Tourism can combine several travel agencies to develop this type of tour following two main directions. One is specially designed tours for education, and the other is a combination between educational tours and other available itineraries such as heritage sightseeing tours, community-engaged and ecological tours. This aims to diversify the tour programs and stimulate visitors’ curiosity and interest in the ancient capital, thereby increasing their length of stay in Hue.

Story and photos: Huu Phuc