Nghe An Tourism in the Eyes of a French

 

Though staying in Nghe An only a week, Mr Le Bail was deeply impressed by the province with similar blue sky and beautiful beaches as in his homeland, Cote Demore. He is even more attached to the development of tourism in the native place of President Ho Chi Minh. As he sees it, Nghe An can presently only attract Vietnamese tourists. To attract foreign tourists, the province must develop the potentials of Pu Mat national park. The boat ride upstream to Giua hamlet of Dan Lai ethnic minority gave him the impression of exploring the Amazon River in South America. He said that the area must be developed into an ideal place for foreign tourists. It needs more boat landings and trails along the stream so that tourists can venture into the forest.

 

Visiting Cua Lo, he sees the need to organise trade fairs attracting investments to develop Cua Lo into a major tourist centre. Cua Lo should establish trade links with other tourist centres such as Ha Long and Hue. Services at the hotels must be upgraded in every detail. A stain on a bed sheet or a broken shutter on a cupboard must be discovered by the staff, not by the clients. For foreign tourists to visit and continue to return there must be impressive services including tourist guidebook.

 

In Kim Lien, he noticed the lack of facilities for children and low cost hotels as Kim Lien will attract mainly Vietnamese pilgrims to Ho Chi Minh’s birth place. He made a calculation that the tour costs VND500,000 a person coming from the Red River delta, with low lodging fee, visitors would stay longer and contribute to the development of the relics. Each tourist site must have a cultural centre with cultural programme performing music and folk songs.

 

Mr Le Bail put tourism in simple terms; hotel, food, excursion, recreation, road and souvenirs. After the survey trip, he will submit a proposal to the City Council of Cote Demore to support Nghe An in the training of human resources for tourism. He also hopes that the authorities of Nghe An and Cote Demore will meet and hold further discussions to promote cooperation.