Binh Duong is home to a lot of traditional handicraft villages which churn out a wide range of unique products for both domestic consumption and export. In addition to generating income and employment for local people, these villages are becoming popular destinations for national and international tourists.
“Aware of the importance of traditional handicraft tourism in socio-economic development of the province, the tourism sector has made endeavors to preserve, maintain and exploit these handicraft villages,” said Mr Do Khac Diep Director of Binh Duong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in a discussion with Vietnam Business Forum. My Chau reports.
Please tell us about the potential for traditional handicraft tourism development in Binh Duong. How has this potential been promoted recently?
Binh Duong has many traditional craft villages, notably such as pottery, lacquer, wood sculpture. Traditional products have become popular in domestic and foreign markets. The handicraft products in Binh Duong are very diverse in types and designs, especially some products with high quality and possessing traditional culture of Vietnam, meeting the needs and tastes of domestic and foreign customers. The traditional handicraft villages in Binh Duong have for long existed and closely associated with the local people’s lives. The local are loyal to the traditional job so as to retain it, make living and possibly associate with marketing and promotion of their products, their own cultures in particular and their country Vietnam in general to the outside world.
During the past years, the traditional handicraft villages have been one point of interest in Binh Duong’s tourism development. Binh Duong has paid much attention to development of traditional handicraft tourism via the first Ceramics Festival Vietnam - Binh Duong in 2010. Currently, there are over 2,000 villages throughout the country which have a rich history associated with culture of the areas and regions with their own system of relics and tradition. Out of these, more than 1,000 branches traditional crafts have been restored and promoted by dedicated generations of artisans. Likewise, traditional villages are not exceptions. All of the given villages like lacquer, ceramics, wood sculpture associated with tourism development have become important goals in the tourism development strategy in Binh Duong province in the near future.
Could you reveal the efforts as well as orientation of the province in conservation and exploitation of traditional handicraft villages?
From the overall view of formation and development process of traditional handicraft making villages in Binh Duong province, we have realized the importance of the restoration, conservation and development of villages associated with tourism development. The villages themselves are also aware of the exploitation of the attractiveness and originality of the products made by themselves in order to attract tourists to go for sightseeing and shopping. According to statistics of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of last quarter II/2011, the province has 32 villages with 9 traditional areas namely ceramics, lacquer, wood sculpture... Despite having coped with many difficulties, many traditional villages in the province still stay alive, grow and attract more tourists to visit and do shopping such as Tuong Binh Hiep lacquer village, Tan Phuoc Khanh ceramic village, Lai Thieu pottery village... The export of traditional handicrafts from these villages has contributed to the economic restructuring and development in rural areas. Therefore, the restoration, conservation and development of villages are one of the factors that affect the process of socio-economic development in the village areas, thereby contributing to the tourism development tourism in Binh Duong during the recent years.
Beside popular tourism activities such as cultural events, festivals, historical relics, ecotourism, water tourism, handicraft making village-based tourism has also got the interest from domestic as well foreign tourists. Accordingly, the development of traditional handicraft making village-based tourism has enriched tourism products. Many villages are becoming attractive to tourists, especially foreign ones. This will help the traditional village get restored, conserved and develop.
What is the orientation for sustainable and effective development of traditional handicraft tourism in Binh Duong province in the future?
Firstly, it is firmly reiterated that traditional handicraft making village-based tourism in Binh Duong is now developing spontaneously. In this way, the tour operators take their own initiatives to design destinations for tourists. This leads to the lack of uniformity, master planning and professionalism at the tourist spots. Many unique traditional craft products in the villages have not been paid due attention for proper investment, making them unattractive to the tourists. This is attributable to a lack of village personnel specializing in designing professional models as well as lack of professional speakers who are to give introduction and explanation about the formation and development of the traditional villages in general as well as each product in particular.
The design of package tourism products and tours programme, village tours have not been paid due attention to. Many tourist resources have not been effectively exploited. Besides, tourism infrastructures with insufficient investment are currently in poor condition, failing to meet tourism business need. Additionally, it is noted that the visit time of the tourists to the village is very short, often in the same day. Therefore, it is essential that tour operators, travel agents as well as traditional handicraft making villages need to find ways to prolong the visit and accommodation time of tourists. If this can be effectively treated, the village tourism is certain to thrive in the future.
Associating traditional handicraft villages with tourism is considered one of the great advantages of Binh Duong. Accordingly, the products of the villages will have chance to be delivered to domestic and foreign tourists, which thereby help handle with employment and income issue for the local, contributing to the stable development of the traditional villages.
Traditional handicraft making village-based tourism in Binh Duong Province has a great growth potential and plays an important role in tourism development strategy in Binh Duong province for the period as to 2020, vision to 2030. Therefore, the investment, exploitation and development of the typical tourism products of Binh Duong need to be conducted in the shortest time. Binh Duong People's Committee has assigned its Culture, Sport and Tourism to work on the project "Development of typical products of the province" as to 2015 including traditional handicraft making village-based tourism development. In addition to the traditional handicraft making villages typically like pottery village in Lai Thieu -Thuan An, pottery village in Tan Phuoc Khanh Tan Uyen and a lacquer, wood sculpture in the town of Thu Dau Mot, Binh Duong also focuses on promoting the development of eco-tourism, resorts, cultural and historical relics,...
Vietnamese
