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| Tourists experiencing making pottery products at Phuoc Tich ancient village (Phong Dien District) |
A lot of potential needed to be exploited
Returning to Phuoc Tich pottery village with a group of national travel agency representatives, everyone was captivated by the peaceful countryside atmosphere and expressed great interest in the pottery craft of Phuoc Tich. A representative from a travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City shared: “Being guided and making pottery by hand is so interesting. The experiences here evoke a sense of taking people back to their childhood and reconnecting them with simple, authentic beauty. This is a great resource to develop tourism”.
Not only in Phuoc Tich, but in Hue, there are many crafts and craft villages that can be exploited to develop tourism. According to the leaders of the Department of Tourism, Thua Thien Hue is an economic, political, and cultural center with nearly 400 years of history, and almost 160 years as the capital of the country under the Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties. It is a place that preserves and spread “timely beauty”.
Hue is also a land that gathers the essence and creative talents of the entire country, housing a vast treasure trove of culture, especially in terms of natural landscapes, history, architecture, and unique traditional craft villages that have been passed down to this day. Each craft village has its own distinct characteristics, such as Phuoc Tich pottery village, Thuan Loc embroidery village, Phu Cam conical hat village, Hien Luong blacksmith village, Ke Mon goldsmith village, My Xuyen sculpture village, Bao La bamboo and rattan weaving village, and Thanh Tien paper flower village, etc.
In recent years, with the attention and direction of the provincial leaders, relevant authorities, and local communities, the crafts and craft villages in the province have been revived, with business operations generating substantial income and gradually adapting to the market economy. Examples include Thuy Duong rice wine, Van Cu and O Sa noodle making, Phu Thuan fish sauce production, and My Xuyen wood carving, etc. At the same time, the province has also introduced and developed new industries such as woodcraft, embroidery, lacework, and bamboo and rattan weaving, which have contributed to harnessing local potential and strengths, increasing the value of industrial and handicraft production.
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| International tourist trying making incense when visiting Thuy Xuan incense village (Hue City) |
Phuc Director of the Department of Tourism Nguyen Van Phuc said that according to a survey by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thua Thien Hue, the province currently has 86 craft villages and 57 traditional crafts operating individually, distributed across 123 locations at the district level. Up to now, Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee has recognized 7 traditional crafts, 10 craft villages, and 20 traditional craft villages across 8 out of 9 districts, towns, and cities. The survey results show that, in addition to preserving and passing down many unique traditional crafts and craft villages, Thua Thien Hue also possesses a wealth of cultural and natural tourism resources that can be integrated with craft and traditional village tourism.
According to the leader of the Department of Tourism, in reality, many craft villages have been oriented towards combining tourism development, yielding some promising initial results. However, alongside the positive aspects, the development of crafts and craft villages still faces many challenges, such as the lack of planning, the absence of strategies for building and developing brands for products, small-scale operations, outdated infrastructure, the predominance of traditional hand tools, products that are mainly for self-sufficiency, low competitiveness, environmental pollution, and many traditional industries being produced at a standstill, with the risk of fading away or disappearing. These are some of the concerns when linking the development of craft and traditional village tourism.
Investment for development
Currently, Thua Thien Hue Province has developed a project titled “Developing craft and craft village tourism in the province in the period of 2022 - 2030”, which aims to create a comprehensive plan to integrate traditional craft villages into a system that conveys community values and serves as a tourism destination. This project is designed to contribute to the preservation and promotion of cultural and historical values, as well as to enhance the economic and social benefits of traditional craft villages in Thua Thien Hue Province.
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| Hanoi tourists learning about the conical hat-making craft when visiting Hue |
Leaders of the Department of Tourism assess that there is a close and organic relationship between tourism activities and craft villages, with mutual interaction and influence. Developing tourism in traditional craft villages is an effective solution for the social and economic development of these villages in a positive and sustainable direction. In returns, traditional craft villages also serve as centers that attract tourists and have a strong impact on visitors in the broader goal of overall development. The development of craft village tourism will contribute to increasing income, creating jobs for local residents, and building a civilized, modern rural area. This is one of the foundations for addressing local employment and aligning with the policy of rural development under the principle of “leaving farming but not homeland”.
To develop craft and craft village tourism, it requires not only the efforts of the tourism sector but also the collaboration of various industries, localities, businesses, and the community. The tourism sector, along with other agencies and localities, needs to focus on implementing a variety of solutions, including developing key destinations and tourism routes focusing on crafts and traditional craft villages tourism. It is also essential to research and develop different types and products of tourism.
The tourism sector, in coordination with relevant agencies, needs to regularly conduct market research and surveys to serve as the basis for developing strategies, programs and plans to promote destinations, products, and the brand of traditional craft village tourism for specific target markets. It is also important to diversify promotional and marketing methods for Thua Thien Hue’s tourism in general, and traditional craft village tourism in particular.
According to Mr. Phuc, the tourism sector will 3D-digitalize some typical major traditional craft village tourism destinations to enhance promotional efforts, providing a more visual and interactive way to showcase traditional craft village products and services to both domestic and international visitors.