Being as a land rich in potential and strength to develop experience tourism, Quang Yen Town has recently piloted a new tourism product entitled “Coc coc Ha Nam Island” – a kind of teambuilding program - with the hope that the new tourism product will help the town to attract more than 400,000 tourist arrivals in 2020.
Experiencing to get more understanding about culture
“Coc Coc Ha Nam Island” is one of a series of experience tourism products named “Quang Yen: Just go and enjoy” co-launched by Saigontourist One Member Liability Limited Company, Quang Ninh Branch, and Quang Yen Town for domestic tourists.
“Coc coc”, the sound of knocking the door, means an invitation to Ha Nam Island. “Coc coc” also means the combination of the final words in the phrases “Đình Phong Cốc” (Phong Coc Communal House) and “Sông Đình Cốc” (name of the river running in front of Phong Coc Communal House)
Tourists will get more understanding about fishing tool making villages, aquaculture farming, and rural people’s jobs via the teambuilding program, for example oyster splitting competition, joining parts of fishing tools, combining rafts, meal preparing competition and then enjoying Quang Yen’s specialty dishes (sour meat balls, oyster porridge… )
Mr. Ngo Dinh Dung, deputy head of Quang Yen Town’s Division of Culture and Information, said “Cultural experience tourism is not new in Quang Yen Town. However, each time tourists travel to the town, they will get different feelings as we make some changes in order to make their trip more enjoyable”.
Adjustments suitable with domestic tourists
According to Ms. Vu Thi Hong Quyen, Director of Saigontourist One Member Liability Limited Company, Quang Ninh Branch, foreign tourists know more about Quang Yen Town than domestic tourists do. They are excited to learn about native fishermen’s life while Vietnamese tourists prefer visiting and relaxing. However, domestic tourists have been more interested in community-based tourism products in recent years. Quang Yen Town is forecasted to be new destination of those who love the values that experience tourism brings. Experience tourism helps them get more understanding about the land they travel to and feel more cultural values then get more awareness of preserving and developing those values.
The success of developing a cultural experience tourism product has made Quang Yen Town’s tourism different from that in other localities but also increased the number of tourists to the town, thus turning the local tourism into the spearhead sector and creating jobs for local people.
Translated by Quynh Trang
