Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Experts consider rural areas a 'gold mine' for the tourism industry todiversify products, and there is a lot of work to be done.

Statistics from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) show that the number oftourists participating in rural and ecological forms of tourism accounts forabout 10%, with revenue of approximately 30 billion USD per year. On average,each year, the proportion of rural tourists increases by 10-30%.

In Vietnam, rural destinations had received considerable attention, especiallyafter the tourism industry opened its doors to international visitors after thepandemic, said the chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh.

With nearly 65.6% of the population living in rural areas with beautifullandscapes and preserving many cultural and historical values, Vietnam haspotential and strengths in rural tourism development in three forms: communitytourism, agro-tourism and ecotourism, according to him.

Chairman of the Tourism Advisory Council Tran Trong Kien said that the ruraltourism model had not only brought livelihoods to farmers but also contributedto preserving and promoting traditional cultural values and ecologicallandscape, all while supporting the diverse and sustainable development oftourism destinations.

According to information from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,the country currently has 365 rural tourist destinations in 37 provinces andcities and more than 2,000 traditional craft villages with potential forfurther development. In many localities, rural tourism is spearheading economicdevelopment.

The administration said Hanoi alone has 806 craft villages that run as ruraltourism models, including Ba Vi, Quoc Oai, Gia Lam, Son Tay, My Duc and ThuongTin districts.

For example, Dong Que farm in Ba Vi district is a destination for tourists andstudents of international for extracurricular activities, in which they canexperience an old Vietnamese village space and try growing vegetables andharvesting agricultural products.

In Thuong Tin, Nguyen Van Tu, Director of Hong Van Flower, Ornamental andService Cooperative, said visitors could experience agricultural tourism in thecommune by collecting seasonal agricultural products, visiting the production,processing and packaging area of herbal teas.

Despite the potential, rural tourism still has many shortcomings, according toexperts.

Chairman of the Vietnam Community Tourism Association Pham Hai Quynh said thatthe drawback of rural tourism was the lack of synchronous infrastructure andquality accommodation facilities to keep guests staying longer.

He added: "Rural tourism has developed fragmented and spontaneously,mainly small business households, due to the lack of planning, mechanisms andpolicies to support the development of this field."

"The subjects of rural tourism development are local households, so theinvestment potential is limited and could not create an overall tourismpicture. However, rural people desperately need support to completeinfrastructure and improve the environment," he said.

Chairman of the Hanoi Travel Association Phung Quang Thang said that rural tourismproducts were still poor while the labour force, mostly local people, had poor knowledgeand skills to perform tourism services.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Trung Hieu added thatthe number and scale of agricultural tourism enterprises were limited, and thesystem of supporting infrastructure for agricultural tourism was notsynchronous, making it difficult for tourists to access this type of tourism.

Tourism experts said the locality needed to plan and invest in rural tourism toovercome these inadequacies. Inviting experts to build attractive and uniquetourism products that achieve high efficiency was necessary.

Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh pointed out thatdeveloping rural tourism required localities to have specific regulations andappropriate policies on the conversion of agricultural land use for tourismdevelopment.

Currently, Hanoi city focuses on piloting six models of agricultural and ruraltourism development; community-based tourism; smart tourism village; craftvillage tourism in the direction of green, responsible and sustainable tourismin the districts of Thuong Tin, Dan Phuong, Thanh Tri, My Duc, Thach That and SonTay town./.