Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s tangible and intangible cultural heritagesare a key part of the country’s tourism, so the preservation of the heritagesis crucial for sustainable tourism development.
Vietnam is home to 24 tangible and intangible cultural heritages, and naturalheritages recognised by the United Nations Educational Scientific and CulturalOrganisation (UNESCO), including eight natural heritage sites, 12 intangiblecultural heritages and four documentary heritages.
According to Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration ofTourism Ha Van Sieu, the Politburo’s Resolution 08-NQ/TW on developing tourisminto a spearhead economic sector stresses the preservation of the nation’s culturalheritage value.
Cultural tourism is hoped to become a key product of the sector, he said,adding it has drawn large numbers of domestic and international visitors, helpingdrive tourism growth, create jobs and enhance the local socio-economy.
Last year, UNESCO-recognised natural and cultural heritages welcomed more than16 million visitors, including 7 million foreigners, earning more than 2.5trillion VND (107.5 million USD) from entrance tickets.
Many localities have developed their own tourism brands based on their culturalheritages. The Complex of Hue Monuments, royal court music, woodblocks, theimperial archives of the Nguyen Dynasty and poetry on Hue royal architecturehave made Hue city an alluring destination, as it received 1.8 million foreignvisitors and pocketed 320 billion VND (13.76 million USD) from entrance ticketslast year.
Meanwhile, Hoi An ancient city in central Quang Nam province also an attractivedestination in Vietnam. The city greeted 1.96 foreigners and raked in 219billion VND (9.41 million USD) from entrance tickets in 2017.
Other destinations such as Ha Long Bay and Yen Tu (Quang Ninh province), PhongNha-Ke Bang (Quang Binh), Trang An (Ninh Binh) and Black Lady Mountain (TayNinh) have been top tourism spots for years.
Sieu said thetourism sector and localities should map out a tourism plan in which tourismdevelopment must be made in tandem with respecting local cultural values.
Local people play an important role in branching out cultural tourism, hestated, saying that building digitalised database on Vietnamese culturalheritages, applying advanced technologies into the management of culturalheritages and developing smart tourism should be a focus.-VNA
VNA