New Ninh Binh province boasts various destinations for tourists

Located in the region with a long-standing historical and cultural tradition, the three provinces had previously boasted great potential for tourism development.

Ninh Binh - the birthplace of the Dinh and Anterior Le dynasties has soon affirmed its brand on the domestic and international tourism map with the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex - World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, and Bai Dinh Pagoda.

Ha Nam, home to the Tam Chuc Spiritual Scenic Landscape Complex, Dia Tang Phi Lai Pagoda, Ba Danh Pagoda, and Long Doi Son Pagoda, has shaped itself as a leading emerging destination in Asia.

Nam Dinh is the homeland of the Tran Dynasty with many tourism strengths such as Tran Temple, Phu Day Complex, Keo Hanh Thien Pagoda, and a coastline of more than 70km.

When the three localities "come together", new Ninh Binh province will not only be a connecting space of more than 5,000 relics, but also a convergence of nearly 750 traditional festivals, with 33 national intangible cultural heritages, along with a rich system of natural resources, and a unique culinary culture.

These "pieces" promise to create an attractive tourism picture, diverse in types and unique in experiences, from eco-tourism, beach resorts, to spiritual tourism, cultural-historical tourism, and adventure tourism.

The mergence is not simply a consolidation of administrative boundaries, but also a breakthrough to "redraw" the tourism map of new Ninh Binh province on the basis of linking destinations in a more closely and sustainably manner.

This is also the basis for forming specialised tourism products rich in experiences, helping to prolong the length of stay and increase the spending of tourists.

However, according to experts, Ninh Binh tourism after the mergence wants to become a "bright pearl" of the Red River Delta and the whole country, still needs to overcome many "barriers".

Director of the provincial Department of Tourism Bui Van Manh said that one of the challenges is that although intra-regional and inter-regional transport has been improved, the routes connecting tourist areas and spots are still fragmented.

In addition, tourism human resources are generally lacking and weak, especially the workforce with vocational skills and foreign language ability; tourism products are still duplicated, monotonous, lacking quality tourism products with local cultural depth. Therefore, to turn Ninh Binh into a leading cultural-ecological-spiritual tourism centre and event organisation in Vietnam, it is necessary to apply many synchronous solutions.

It is necessary to study, review, conduct a general survey, and re-evaluate tourism resources to plan and reorganise tourism development space, ensuring connectivity to form a complementary tourism "triangle", he said.

The province will focus on developing inter-regional transport infrastructure, especially strategic transport routes connecting the tourism centres of Trang An - Tam Chuc - Tran Temple - Phu Day - Thinh Long.

In addition, it is calling for investment in building a 4-5 star high-class accommodation system, combined with encouraging the development of homestay, farmstay, and glamping models in coastal and rural areas to create diverse tourism products, meeting the needs of learning and experiencing indigenous culture of many domestic and international customers.

In addition, it is also necessary to develop training facilities and training linkages to supplement high-quality tourism human resources; ensure a green, clean, beautiful, and safe tourism landscape to build reputation and image of the destination.

Manh said after merging into a new administrative entity, the urgent requirement is to position the brand for tourism in new Ninh Binh province.

It is necessary to combine the brands and images of typical and typical destinations of the previous provinces of Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, and Ninh Binh to build a comprehensive, multi-faceted, and unique brand, characterized by being a four-season tourist destination with many types and tourism products.

Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh, President of the Association of Sustainable Tourism Development Science (STDe) suggested that Ninh Binh could establish a regional brand as the Buddhist Capital of Vietnam, the leading spiritual and cultural tourism center in Asia.

From there, the province should develop a system of high-class spiritual tourism products, with a cross-regional journey connecting Bai Dinh Pagoda - Tam Chuc Pagoda - Tran Temple - Phu Day, creating a thematic tour "Northern Belief Road"; building a spiritual journey connecting the ancient capital of Hoa Lu with other ancient capitals in the country such as Thang Long Imperial Citadel, and Hue ancient capital; and at the same time, connecting with major spiritual centres in some Asian destinations such as India, Tibet, Thailand and Japan.

Hanh believed that Ninh Binh needs to have a breakthrough mindset in exploiting natural resources and cultural heritage, and building a new tourism product chain in close relationship with cultural industries.

From the perspective of a tourism business, Nguyen Van Tai, General Director of VietSense Travel, commented that in the context of modern tourists increasingly demanding comprehensive experiences, from sightseeing, shopping, dining to relaxation, entertainment and recreation, then the resonance of Ninh Binh tourism resources after merging with forests, seas, mountains, plains, heritage, infrastructure is the strength to create a comprehensive destination complex.

The problem is to solve the problem of tourism product planning, to build interconnected routes, so that the resources of each destination do not overlap but support each other, he said.

On that basis, the province needs to make the most of the power of digital technology to bring the image of a high-class, experience-rich Ninh Binh to a large number of domestic and international tourists./.