Hanoi (VNA)ไ – Agricultural and rural tourism has been considered a newdirection, bringing fresh air to rural areas in Vietnam, according to experts.

The type of tourism is a new direction in line with the country’sstrategy of agricultural economic development towards green agriculture. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnamnow has more than 1,300 tourist sites under the management of local administrations,about 70% of the sites are in rural areas. They are considered an importantresource to promote rural development, create jobs and incomes for people,promote rural economic restructuring, and preserve traditional cultural values. The northern province of Ha Giang is one of the first localities inVietnam to develop rural tourism, aiming to improve people's living conditionsand develop new-style rural areas. For years, the province has implemented programmes and policies to supportpeople to develop community-based cultural tourism models. Ha Giang has focused on investing in infrastructure, renovatingthe landscape, and preserving the traditional cultural values of ethnicgroups. Up to now, electricity is available to all of its cultural and touristvillages, cars can reach villages and the provincial authorities funded morethan 16 billion VND (680,500 USD) to build proper toilets at 272 households that offerhomestay services.

The province also regularly opens training courses to improve tourismskills for local people.

🌳 Sin Di Gai, head of Lo Lo Chai village in Ha Giang province, said that 32households in the village now offer homestay services to about 1,000 guestsmonthly.

Thanks to the accommodation services, the households earn 10-30 million VND monthly. Other households provide auxiliary services such as growing vegetables,raising black pigs or chickens, and planting buckwheat flowers for tourismpurposes. With prosperous tourism business, the village’s poverty rate has reducedfrom 80% to nearly 10% now. Localities in the southern province of Ben Tre have also developed ruraltourism. In Ben Tre city’s Nhon Thanh commune, homestay services have appearedsince 2008. Now, the commune has 11 establishments, which can serve 1,500visitors per day and provide rooms for up to 250 guests daily. Huynh Van Muoi, owner of Muoi No homestay and one of the first farmers inthe commune to switch from agricultural production to tourism, said that when hestarted his tourism business, he learned everything from how to receive guests,speak English to preparing foods. Muoi said that the value of his agricultural products sold to tourists isthree times higher than that sold to traders. He converted all of his 8,000sq.m of farming land to building tourist areas and homestays for guests. Heearns ten times higher than growing sedges and making mats. Tourism is gradually becoming an important economic sector of Nhon Thanhcommune in particular and Ben Tre city in general. Vice chairman of the People's Committee of Ben Tre city Nguyen VanThuong said that agriculture and rural tourism contribute more and more to theeconomic development of rural communes. It helps create new jobs, boostproduction and trade. As a result, tourism activities help to improve incomes and quality of life for local people. The positive impacts of agricultural and rural tourism prove itseffectiveness in the development of the household economy in particular, therural economy, and agriculture in general. However, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentLe Minh Hoan, many models are still spontaneous, without making differences,and lack linkages.

Many tourist destinations have not cooperated with each other yet and not interested insharing benefits with the community, he said.

🐼 Promotion, connection, and consulting activities have not been oriented, he said, adding that supporting mechanisms and policies have not become a driving force to developa tourism industry that brings both economic and social values. Synchronous solutions are needed to help the tourism sector reach sustainablevalues, Hoan added./.