Located close to Hue city, owning unique community tourism products and experiences, Huong Thuy becomes an attractive destination.
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Must-see destination
Every day, it is not difficult to see groups of international tourists cycling from Hue City to Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge to experience community tourism, and agricultural activities, and enjoy typical countryside cuisine at Thuy Thanh (Huong Thuy town). Groups of tourists vary from 5 or 10 to nearly a hundred.
Nguyen Dinh Quyen, a tour guide, Fiditour Travel Company, Hue branch, said that with the company’s tours serving international visitors to Hue, after visiting the heritage system and products in Hue city center, visitors will choose to experience cycling to tourist attractions associated with the countryside next to the city. In “satellite” points close to Hue city, the Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge is the greatest attraction.
“During the journey, tourists would go through fields, which are very beautiful in harvest season. When coming to Thanh Toan, tourists will visit the tiled-roof bridge and participate in experiences, such as farming, drying rice, fishing on the river, harvesting crops, etc., and then using the harvested things to prepare food for lunch. Afterward, tourists move along the Nhu Y River to return to Hue city on a peaceful route with many trees. Those are the experiences that tourists are most impressed with on the journey to Thanh Toan and Hue,” said Nguyen Dinh Quyen.
Not only for international visitors but also domestic tourists, Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge is also a destination not to be missed whenever they have the opportunity to come to Hue. Ms. Ta Ha My’s family from Quang Ninh went to Hue to travel on the weekend. Ms. My shared that when coming to Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge, the family can participate in attractive activities such as going to the countryside market, playing bai choi games, boating on the river, enjoying foods at the countryside market, etc. Her children were excited because this was their first experience traveling in a village like that.
From 2022, Huong Thuy town has invested in developing community tourism in Duong Hoa to increase diversity in community tourism. It is a locality with many conditions for sustainable community tourism development when there are many attractions, such as the Khang Chien Market relic system, Duong Hoa War Stele, Da Dam waterfall stream, Khe De, Ta Trach lake bed, Chin Chang waterfall, etc. Coming to Duong Hoa, visitors can also experience traditional crafts, such as splitting incense sticks, weaving, making brooms from bamboo trees, etc.
Mr. Tran Quang Hao, Chairman of the Provincial Community Tourism Association, assessed that in the “life cycle” of tourism destination development, Duong Hoa is in the start-up phase with newly invested and formed infrastructure and services. This is the time to increase promotion, improve services, and connect businesses to build tours. When the service is completed and with the company’s companionship, Duong Hoa will certainly be a new attractive destination for Huong Thuy shortly. Especially, it is possible to form a 2-day and 1-night tour connecting Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge and Duong Hoa.
Building unique character
Community tourism has become a trend chosen by many tourists to have interesting experiences, close to the lives of local people. Understanding that need, in recent times, the tourism industry has accompanied Huong Thuy to deploy many solutions to promote and train community tourism and attract investment to build products in Thuy Thanh in general and Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge area in particular. Since then, when coming to Thanh Toan, visitors can experience more complete services, such as cuisine, participating in many folk games, enjoying unique art shows, exploring farming houses, experiencing “A day as a farmer”, rowing a boat on the Nhu Y River, etc.
Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Provincial Tourism Promotion Information Center, said that Huong Thuy may not have many tourist attractions compared to some other localities, but it has its characteristics, especially in community tourism development. This unique characteristic is the factor that attracts customers. “Recently, the ecotourism trend in peaceful destinations associated with villages, forests, and mountains, separate from the hustle and bustle of urban areas, has been chosen. Therefore, with the advantage of being located next to Hue city, destinations in Huong Thuy, especially Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge and new destinations like Duong Hoa are considered to attract more tourists,” Mr. Truong Thanh Minh assessed.
Huong Thuy town has 15 recognized historical and cultural relics, including 5 national-level relics, 10 provincial-level relics, and more than 40 unique and typical festivals. According to Ms. Ngo Thi Ai Huong, Vice Chairwoman of the Huong Thuy Town People’s Committee, to build a brand name and create a separate path for Huong Thuy community tourism, the town is combining many solutions based on human factors, planning, investment, service improvement, building model with specificity. At the same time, there is a connection and sustainable participation of local people in the chain of community tourism services.
Story and photo: Gia Huy
Thua Thien Hue Online Newspaper – news.baothuathienhue.vn
