Spring festival season sees surging visitors with improved safety measures

FROM ALL OVER: Tourists enjoying spiritual ceremonies at Đong Cuong Temple Festival in the northern province of Yen Ba's Van Yen District. VNA/VNS photo

Authorities and experts are reporting a surge in the number of visitors at festivals held across the country, as the country gears up for the festival season after three years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported on its website that after three years of impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the halting and reducing scales of many cultural festivals nationwide, this year's festivity season has returned with a spike in the number of visitors, though safety hasn't been compromised.

Since the beginning of the season, the ministry has issued many documents requesting localities strengthen management and organising works for all cultural activities. Local authorities have undertaken sufficient measures to ensure participants in the 2023 Spring Festival season are "safe, joyful and healthy".

Meanwhile, experts say the Spring Festival Season 2023 of the Year of the Cat is considered as an occasion for the community to reach a 'boom' in travelling to enjoy the traditional and cultural celebrations in famous spots, which were halted for a long time due to the pandemic.

So far, most of the famous spring festivals have opened, including the Huong (Perfume) Pagoda Festival, Soc Temple Festival or Co Loa Citadel Festival in the North. They have attracted tens of thousands of visitors everyday, with no reports of violations in security and social order.

BACK WITH A BANG: After three years of COVID-19 delays, the festival season has returned this year with a spike in the number of visitors. Photo: toquoc.vn

Nguyen Ba Hien, head of the Management Board of Huong Son tourist site in Huong Son Commune, Hanoi's suburban My Duc District, said the Huong Pagoda Festival 2023 was taking place with the theme "An toan, Van minh, Than thien" (Safe, Civilised, Friendly).

This year, the festival has seen a reform in organization with ticket sales changed from traditional to the electronic application model.

On the opening day of the festival, which fell on January 6 of the lunar calendar (Friday last week), the festival welcomed more than 40,000 visitors without any congestion, according to the official.

"We print e-invoice tickets and complete a new ticket control system via QR Code at 10 ticket control entrances," Hien said.

"A bus service has been piloted to deliver and pick up tourists on three routes. The first route starts from Hoi Xa bus station to Yen Vy wharf, the second is from Duc Khe bus stop to Đong Cu in front of Trinh Temple and the third is from Bus station 1 to Tuyet Son Pagoda wharf. Congestion has been controlled," he added.

TIMES ARE CHANGING: The pig sacrifice ritual of the Nem Thuong Festival in Nem Thuong Village, in the northern province of Bac Ninh, is now performed behind closed doors instead in public on the communal house's yard. Photo: toquoc.vn

Nem Thuong Festival, in Bac Ninh City's Nem Thuong Village in the northern province of Bac Ninh, in the past few years has organized its pig sacrifice ritual behind closed doors instead on the communal house's yard. The once-controversial practice has changed its way of organising following a direction of the culture ministry and the People's Committee of Bac Ninh Province.

Ninh Thi Thu Huong, director of Grassroots Culture Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the department had sent inspection teams to localities since October 2022 to help them boost the organization and management works in spiritual ceremonies and festivals at heritage sites.

AND THEY'RE OFF: The Go Thi Thung traditional horse racing festival in the central province of Phu Yen's Tuy An District. VNA/VNS Photo Tuong Quan

This was instructed in the ministry's Directive 274 on strengthening state management of local cultural and artistic activities and festivals to protect and promote heritage values as well as restore and develop tourism.

"As has been forecast that the 2023 festival season will see a sudden increase of visitors and contents of activities, the department has worked with some localities which still organised controversial activities in the previous season, such as buffalo fighting in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc and some others that need to undertake better organizing measures, plans, and scenarios so that to have the best results," said Huong.

In addition, the ministry also asked authorities to enforce inspection before, during and after the festivals, while requiring an improvement in awareness and management among local authorities.