Spiritual tourism waits for the Tet holiday season

(KTSG Online) – Traditional Tet holidays are always a time of pilgrimage for many tourists who love spiritual tourism. Stretching from North to South, each province and city has its own destinations that attract domestic and foreign tourists. Tours with spiritual elements are a typical product, always having their own seasonal customer base to exploit, especially in the first months of the year.

(KTSG Online) – Traditional Tet holidays are always a time of pilgrimage for many tourists who love spiritual tourism. Stretching from North to South, each province and city has its own destinations that attract domestic and foreign tourists. Tours with spiritual elements are a typical product, always having their own seasonal customer base to exploit, especially in the first months of the year.

Diverse package services across regions

The need to make pilgrimages, visit pagodas and places to return to the source, and pay tribute to martyrs always exists because of the culture of drinking water, remembering the source, and the good will of every Vietnamese person. A representative of Saigontourist Travel Service Company said that normally, right after the Lunar New Year, the company's series of pilgrimage tours in the first festival season of the year always attract a large number of customers. Most spiritual festivals with temples, pagodas, and shrines are concentrated in the North along with some tours in the Central region and to the South.

In other seasons, Saigontourist Travel still periodically maintains tour products that combine pilgrimage in itineraries such as a series of Northern tours to visit scenic spots, Yen Tu Pagoda, Perfume Pagoda, Bai Dinh Pagoda, Trang An. ... at the same time, relax on the beach, visit ancient craft villages, compactly in 4-6 days with a cost of 7 million VND, or other places in Ha Long, Ninh Binh... In the Central region tour group, there are also many destinations such as Thien Pagoda Mu, Truc Lam Bach Ma Zen monastery, Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot. The West has some famous places for spiritual tourism products such as Sa Dec - Ba Chau Doc temple - Cam mountain; Can Tho – Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen monastery – Ba Chau Doc temple – Ha Tien…

View from the top of Yen Tu peak. Photo: DNCC

It is known that up to now, Saigontourist has had a slight increase in the number of tourists interested in this type of spiritual tourism, maintaining stability over the years, accounting for 10% of the proportion of regular tours of travellers. Tours that attract tourists include the West with convenient road routes, combining many attractions, the Central region to Hue, Da Nang, Quang Binh and the North destinations to Ninh Binh and Trang An.

Representative of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lam Dong province statistics that this year out of a total of more than 6.5 million visitors to the resort, about 50% of tourists came to experience tourist areas and destinations with activities. Adventure sports tourism and spiritual cultural tourism contribute to the growth of these types of tourism compared to every year. Currently, the tourism industry has been contributing 8-9% of the total GRDP of the entire Lam Dong province.

“With a long history and unique architecture, spiritual cultural tourist attractions in Lam Dong always have their own attraction for domestic and foreign tourists to visit and learn about such as Truc Lam Zen Monastery, Linh Phuoc Pagoda (vegetable pagoda), Samten Hill Da Lat", said Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lam Dong province.

Exploiting tourism associated with cultural preservation

Sharing with KTSG Online, in Resolution 18-NQ/TU dated July 25, 2022 of the Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee on developing high quality tourism in Lam Dong province until 2025, the orientation to 2030 has been confirmed. By 2025, the locality will prioritize the development of 4 key product groups. Specifically, the eco-tourism model is associated with sightseeing and culture (including indigenous culture, specific architecture, spiritual tourism; culture, street art...); resort tourism and entertainment; adventure sports tourism; Agricultural tourism is associated with the promotion and consumption of local agricultural and OCOP products to create typical tourism products of the province.

The destination combines many elements of belief, culture and natural scenery and is popular with tourists in the first days of the year. Photo: DNCC

“From there, support research and production of handicraft products for tourism and local specialty products. To complete the targets set out in Resolution 18-NQTU, the authorities will continue to advise the People's Committee of Lam Dong province to attract investment and develop the above types of tourism products," Ms. Bich Ngoc added. .

For southern travel businesses, Saigontourist believes that spiritual tourism products not only bring economic benefits but also encourage the development and preservation of the nation's good culture. In fact, spiritual tours and tourism combining spirituality in Vietnam have great and stable potential. Saigontourist Travel determines to develop spiritual tours aimed at "good life, beautiful religion", associated with the traditions and culture of the nation, encouraging cultural festivals in accordance with fine customs and traditions. The development of pilgrimage tour products will be associated with the exploitation of new local destinations and improving service quality and preserving existing monuments.

Dong Pagoda in Yen Tu. Photo: DNCC

However, spiritual tourism products require tour guides to have in-depth knowledge of history and culture, especially knowledge of religion and related customs. Visiting time at these destinations also needs to be extended so that visitors can contemplate and experience.

At Yen Tu destination (Quang Ninh), a land with many meanings of Vietnamese Buddhism, where King - Buddha Tran Nhan Tong once practiced, the cultural and tourism space is exploited with many products from Sightseeing tours, mountain climbing tours, spiritual tours and many other activities. This diversity attracts many different types of tourists. For families and couples, the unit has products such as Lang Nuong resort and Legacy Mgallery Yentu area. For guests who like climbing and exploring, Yen Tu has nature experience packages combined with cable access to the mountain. Young people coming here can also try horse riding, archery, making to he, making conical hats...

Mr. Bui Minh Duc, currently the communications manager of Tung Lam Group, an enterprise that develops and preserves Vietnamese cultural heritage, said that Tung Lam is a government-licensed unit to develop services and culture in Yen. Death. He pointed out that before the Covid-19 epidemic, Yen Tu welcomed about 1 million visitors/year. By 2022, the number of tourists has recovered by about 60-70% compared to before the epidemic.

Coming to Tung Lam Yen Tu, visitors can experience a variety of activities, from a pilgrimage to Yen Tu mountain, to 2 rustic or high-end resorts suitable for customers.

“Uong Bi city and Yen Tu mountain are outstanding destinations that attract tourists, especially those interested in spiritual tourism and religious culture. From the inherent beauty of nature and spiritual values, we are confident that Yen Tu will increasingly retain its attraction as well as preserve the Vietnamese soul here," Mr. Minh Duc said.

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Update day : 22/10/2023