Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam holds hugepotential for cultural and spiritual tourism thanks to its diversity in terms ofculture, customs and traditions, which have been shaped and practised across thenation for thousands of years.

Official statistics showthat Vietnam has around 40,000 tangible and 60,000 intangible heritages. Mostof them are in connection with temples, pagodas, monuments, churches, andexpressed in religious rituals, traditional festivals and art forms.

The United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognised11 intangible cultural heritage of humanity in Vietnam. They are the Vietnamesebeliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms, Tugging rituals and games, Viand Giam folk songs, Art of Don Ca Tai Tu music and songs, Worship of Hungkings, Giong festival of Phu Dong and Soc temples, Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs,Nha Nhac court music, Space of gong culture, and two in need of urgent safeguarding,namely Xoan singing of Phu Tho, and Ca tru singing.

Five places have alsogained the UNESCO-recognised world cultural heritage status, namely CentralSector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long – Hanoi, Citadel of the HoDynasty, Complex of Hue Monuments, Hoi An Ancient City, My Son Sanctuary, andthe natural-cultural Trang An – Bai Dinh Landscape Complex.

Socio-economic aspects of cultural-religious travel

Spiritually and religiously motivated travel hasproven its position in the tourism sector. In 2016, one-third of 62 milliondomestic tourists visited destinations with spiritual significance, accordingto the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Cultural-religious tourism generates animportant source of revenue while creating stable incomes and jobs for localresidents. Local residents participate in tourism activities such as sales ofworship offerings, souvenirs, local products and restaurant-transport services.

There are more than 2,000 boats on Yen Stream inthe Huong Pagoda relic site. Tran Thi Mai, owner of a boat said one festivalseason is as lucrative as five rice crops. She can earn about 300,000 VND (14USD) a day by transporting tourists to Huong Pagoda. Men who row bigger boatscan earn even more.


Pensioner Nguyen Van Trinh, 80, who recordsdonations at the Ngu Nhac Linh Tu Temple in the Huong Pagoda relic complex said,there are more than ten desks in the temple recording donations made byvisitors. On average, he records up to 15 million VND (660 USD) of donations aday. The proceeds are used to maintain, manage, operate the site and contributeto local budget.

The Imperial Ancient Citadel of Hue aloneattracts millions of tourists, generating hundreds of billions VND per year. Partof the revenue is used to preserve the site’s conditions and values, including resurrectingthe Earth and Crop Gods worshipping “Xa Tac” and “Nam Giao” offering rituals, thusreducing the load on the State budget for the work, according to VNAT DeputyDirector General Ngo Hoai Chung.

Only tourism can inspire so many people to visithistorical and cultural relic sites. Only tourism can generate and mobilisesuch huge resources to fund preservation, upgrade, and day-to-day operationalcosts of the relic sites. And only by preserving, marketing and investing insupport infrastructure can relic sites attract visitors and pilgrims, Chungtold the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

Ancient Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh province hasbeen in place for over 1000 years. However, not until multi-million USD of investmentwas poured into building the Bai Dinh Pagoda complex, improving traffic networkand support infrastructure facilities, and marketing efforts has the sitebecome attractive to tourists. The complex has hosted numerous internationaland national religious events, including the 2008 and 2014 UnitedNations Day of Vesak.

The UNESCO-recognised Trang An-Bai Dinh worldnatural and cultural heritage site is a success. The model is expected tocreate an impetus for tourism development of Ninh Binh and surroundinglocalities, Chung elaborated.

Cultural-religious trips promote humanitarian values

Accordingto Most Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu, Standing Vice Chairman of the VietnamBuddhist Sangha (VBS) Executive Council, Buddhismis more of a religion. It has become a cultural identity that takes deep rootsin the nation. There are pagodas in almost every community, from remote areasto cities. There are nearly 15,000 pagodas across the nation, accounting fornearly 40 percent of the nation’s relic sites. Nearly 500 have been recognisedas national relic sites and become tourism attractions.

Buddhismis a tolerant faith and has the largest number of followers among religions inVietnam. In any Vietnamese pagoda, there are three major altars, worshippingthe Buddha, Mother Goddesses, and national heroes or great masters who honourthe country. Trips to and experience in sacred places, including pagodas, willinspire good behaviors, gratitude and physically and mentally healthy lifestyleamong visitors, said Most Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu.

Dr. Duong Van Sau, Dean of the Faculty ofCultural Tourism of the Hanoi University of Culture (HUC) also underlined the beyond-economicvalues of spiritual tourism, saying that most religious and sacred sites areendowed with cultural, religious and historic significance. Spiritual travelproducts explore the living culture, tradition, history and beliefs. Therefore,they present opportunities for educational and cultural experiences.

Visitors can contemplate or even get themselves involvedin ritual ceremonies, traditional festivals and art forms. This is the most effectiveway to ensure the continuity of cultural values. They also learn about historyand culture from proper instructions at religious destinations. Hence, spiritualtourism in some way, offers hands-on lessons for tourists, contributes toraising people’s awareness and knowledge about culture, beliefs, tradition andhistory of the nation, Sau elaborated.

More and more visitorscome to heritage sites. Religious adherents wish to fulfill their faith, somevisit sacred places out of curiousity and others simply enjoy their journeysfor leisure, seek mental getaways rather than for spiritual or educational purposes.

Crowds of people flock to Huong pagoda duringspring festivals. Many of them are actually motivated by the romanticexperience and relaxation on boat journeys on the peaceful Yen Stream, betweenmountain ranges and in the foggy atmostphere, rather than looking forward tothe spiritual values.

Le Van Duyen, from Hung Tien commune in Hanoi’sMy Duc district, who is head of the art performance boat on the Yen Stream saidthe dragon-shaped boat has been deployed for almost ten years. “Our amateurartists in traditional dresses sing folk songs, Cheo and chanty. Most of touriststo Huong Pagoda express their excitement when seeing us. They take photos withus. Some sing and row their boats along ours on the stream,” he said.


Spiritual tourism picks up in Vietnam

Joint efforts byadministrations all levels and sectors have been made to promote spiritualtourism in a professional and sustainable manner while focusing on preservingcultural and religious values, Ngo Hoai Chung told VNA, adding that theyinclude connections among localities and between localities and tourism agenciesto explore cultural and religious tourism potential and to lengthen tourists’stay.

Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, and Nam Dinh are parts ofthe Tran Dynasty heritage journey. The Central Highlands provinces promotetheir space of gong culture while the central localities of Da Nang, Hoi An,Hue, and Quang Binh make up an attractive heritage road, Chung gave examples.

The first International Conference on SpiritualTourism for Sustainable Development was jointly held in Ninh Binh in 2013 bythe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the World Tourism Organisation.International and domestic experts discussed planning, management,conservation, and promotion of spiritual tourism products. The event markedthe first-time significance the Government attached to developingcultural-religious tourism, Chung said.

Most Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu, who is also Headof the Bai Dinh Pagoda, said there are many old pagodas in Ninh Binh, includingthe ancient Bai Dinh pagoda on Trang An mountain. However, few tourists visitedthe pagoda in the past because it is located on a high mountain. Now, the550-hectare Bai Dinh Pagoda Complex, including the original pagoda, receivescrowds of visitors throughout the year. Tens of thousands of tourists andBuddhist followers visit the pagoda a day during the festival season.

According to Dr. DuongVan Sau from the HUC, religious travel is not new. It has become a globalphenomenon. International studies have shown that religion and spirituality areamong the most common motivations for travel. Hundreds of millions of peopletravel to sacred places whether or not they adhere to an official religion.Vietnam is not an exception in the trend.

Many destinations have become major tourismattractions as a result of their connections to sacred people, places andevents, such as Tran Temple in Nam Dinh, Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh, Yen TuTemple in Quang Ninh, Hung King Temple in Phu Tho, and Ba Chua Xu Temple in AnGiang.

However, excessive numbers of visitors mayadversely affect the structure and spirituality of religious sites. Mismanagementand overuse can also be destructive for the environmental conditions atreligious travel destinations. Stakeholders should focus on management whenencouraging visitation to conserve the cultural and religious aspects, Dr. Sausuggested.-VNA