Cultural heritage helps tourism development

Visiting the Trang An Landscape Complex in the northern province of Ninh Binh

Boost to socioeconomic development

Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Cultural Heritage, assessed that heritage sites play an important role in attracting domestic and foreign visitors and thereby contributing to socioeconomic development and poverty reduction.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, localities accommodating Vietnam’s eight recognized world heritage sites welcomed 14.3 million visitors, earning total revenues of an estimated VND1.776 trillion in 2016. The figures increased to 18.2 million visitors and VND2.322 trillion in 2019, respectively.

The Hoi An ancient town in the central coastal province of Quang Nam was classified as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 1985 and subsequently as a Special National Cultural Heritage Site. According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, world heritages sites in Hoi An have been well preserved and play an increasingly important role in the town’s socioeconomic development, including tourism development. The number of visitors to Hoi An almost tripled from 879,000 in 2006 to 2.5 million in 2019. Over the past 20 years, Hoi An’s tourism, services and trade sector has grown significantly to account for more than 70 percent of the town's gross domestic product (GDP).

Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Ha Van Sieu, emphasized that cultural heritage has become a valuable Vietnamese resource that greatly helps the country’s tourism development. Cultural heritage sites, especially certified national and international-level ones, have become famous tourist destinations, he added.

Hoi An Old Town in the central province of Quang Nam

Public-private partnerships

The country also has about 70,000 intangible cultural heritages, 483 national intangible cultural heritages, 15 intangible cultural heritages and nine documentary heritages certified by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in addition to 265 national treasures.

Prof. Aaron Ahuvia from the University of Michigan (USA) said Vietnam needs to take appropriate measures if it is to turn tourism into a spearhead industry. Vietnam needs to boost branding development for its tourism industry, bring into play its potential and advantages, especially those related to its heritages, strengthen tourism promotion and offer more professional services to attract visitors.

Nguyen Duc Khuong, Chair of the Paris-based Association of Vietnamese Scientists and Experts (AVSE Global), said Vietnam needs to make its localities and people thoroughly aware of cultural and heritage values if it is to develop its tourism industry.

Dang Van Bai, Vice Chair of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, said public-private partnerships (PPP) are highly recommended for sustainable development, efficient heritage preservation and cultural heritage value promotion. Bai urged state agencies to adopt policies on efficient tourism development and heritage management.