Foreign tourists experience Vietnamese traditional culture in Duong Lam ancient village, Son Tay town, Hanoi. (Photo: NDO)   

NDO – SEA Games 31 is an opportunity for thousands of international athletes, officials and audiences to come to Vietnam, especially Hanoi where the opening and closing ceremonies and many competitions will take place. T

The exciting sports event is a chance to attract more international tourists. Therefore, Hanoi should promote its tourism potential, renew tourism products and improve its service quality towards creating a “push” for tourism recovery.

Innovation of products and acceleration of communication activities

In the early days of April, the authorities and several business households in Bat Trang commune, Gia Lam district, cooperated with the Hanoitourist travel company to complete a new tourism product named “Footprint in Bat Trang Ancient Village” which was officially launched on April 9. Bat Trang is the most famous trade village in Hanoi. However, visitors to Bat Trang have mainly discovered the village by going to the pottery market, visiting some pottery shops and kilns and buying products. The new tourism product will bring visitors a new approach. In addition to exploring pottery-making crafts, the guests will pass through the narrow alleys to reach the Bat Trang communal house and enjoy lunch with famous specialities such as bamboo shoot soup with squid or fried squid with kohlrabi.

The interesting highlight is that visitors will be grouped in the ancient village with mossy alleys that are just wide enough for two people to walk. The guests must find the locations according to the instructions and take photos there before going to the meeting point, the only ancient pottery kiln in the village. Chairman of Bat Trang communal People’s Committee Pham Huy Khoi said: “There are many values ​​of Bat Trang that visitors have not learned, for example, the stories about pottery production, the space of the ancient village area with winding alleys, the traditional cuisine and its academic tradition. The destinations have been designed to tell stories about the history, culture and unique features of Bat Trang pottery village”.

On the occasion, the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre revised the night tour “Decoding the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long” which was launched in 2020 but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors will have the chance to visit Doan Mon (Main Gate), Kinh Thien Palace and architectural ruins in shimmering fanciful lights.

Visitors are joining agricultural tourism activities in Ba Vi district, Hanoi. (Photo: NDO)

SEA Games 31 is an international sports event taking place when Vietnam is boosting tourism recovery. The athletes, officials and spectators (both from the country and abroad) do not have a lot of time. Therefore, the Hanoi municipal Department of Tourism has worked with other relevant agencies to develop and adjust tours to suit the needs of guests, especially products related to cultural and trade village tourism, green tourism experiences by bicycles to visit monuments and suburbs, Huong (Perfume) Pagoda, Ba Vi national park and Duong Lam ancient village. Hanoi has developed promotional campaigns to bring these products closer to visitors through leaflets, banners, Facebook, Youtube and especially video clips on CNN.

Up to this point, the Hanoi municipal Department of Culture and Sports has developed eight short films featuring the city’s culture, cuisine and trade villages. They will be screened at the guests’ accommodation. The tourism products will also be introduced at the competition venues so that members of sports delegations and international spectators can refer at any time.

The accommodation facilities have also actively made preparations. Hanoi has 38 four- and five-star hotels with a total of 8,400 rooms. The Hanoi municipal Department of Tourism introduced 12 hotels to the General Department of Sports and Physical Training for receiving guests to SEA Games 31, including many famous ones such as Melia Hanoi, Hanoi Daewoo, Pan Pacific, Du Parch Hanoi, InterContinental Westlake Hanoi, Hyatt Regency West Hanoi, Lotte Hanoi and Novotel Thai Ha.

Taking advantage of the “golden opportunity”

After a month of the full reopening of international tourism, there have not been many groups of foreign tourists to Hanoi. However, SEA Games 31 is expected to create a “turning point”. Trinh Thi My Nghe, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Travel and Tourism Association and Director of ITC International Travel Company, said SEA Games 31 is an opportunity to promote the capital city’s tourism.

The event will attract not only athletes and members of sports delegations from foreign countries but also a large number of international media. If the city takes this opportunity, its tourism industry can recover and regain growth momentum.

However, the tourism products’ innovation is enough for taking this advantage. The Director of the Hanoi municipal Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended, so the department has been working with localities and units to ensure the safety of services. Building a friendly tourism environment and a humane tourism environment is also an important environment.

The Department has been organising three training courses for accommodation establishments, management staff and local people joining community-based tourism; promoting the implementation of a civilised lifestyle and a code of conduct in public; and decorating the landscapes. Giang expressed her belief that the above measures will help visitors to Hanoi feel satisfied, creating motivation for the sustainable recovery of the capital city’s tourism.

From now until the end of SEA Games 31, Hanoi will host a series of special tourism events such as the Hanoi Tourism Gift Festival (from April 29 to May 1), Hanoi Tourism Festival (from May 13-15) and the Hanoi Culinary and Craft Village Tourism Festival (from May 18-22). The activities aim to promote cultural values, tourism, economic cooperation potential of Hanoi to athletes, fans and international reporters.

According to representatives from many travel agencies and companies, the announcement of the competition schedule and ticket prices for all sports will facilitate enterprises in welcoming visitors to Vietnam.

Giang Nam
Translated by NDO