Tourism chaos in Vietnam

"Hands" are everywhere

Since the Golden Bridge in Da Nang became famous domestically and internationally , many destinations in Vietnam have been flooded with "hand-copied" architecture, too many to count.

The "hand" construction on the top of the famous O Quy Ho pass, in Lai Chau province, once again shocked many people. The welcome gate and the hand with a bow-tied sleeve, a detail that is confirmed to not be the Buddha's hand, were criticized by tourists and researchers as destroying the natural landscape of the Northwest mountains and forests and being foreign to the local culture.

Hand on top of O Quy Ho pass

O Quy Ho is 2,000m high, one of the four great passes in the Northwest (along with Ma Pi Leng, Khau Pha, Pha Din), connecting the two provinces of Lai Chau and Lao Cai . O Quy Ho is dangerous and majestic because this is the pass that cuts across the Hoang Lien Son range, the top of the pass is covered with clouds all year round, so it is also the most beautiful place to hunt clouds among the four passes. Therefore, the construction of a welcome gate on the top of the mountain with the "hand" has met with reactions from many people.

On the occasion of Lunar New Year 2023, a giant Buddha hand built at Cao Pagoda on Ma Lim Mountain (Ha Linh, Ha Trung, Thanh Hoa) will open to visitors. The hand was built along with a glass bridge dozens of meters long on the edge of the mountain.

Cao Pagoda is an ancient pagoda dating back to the Le Dynasty, and still retains some ancient artifacts such as stone turtle steles, stone bells, etc., although the ancient pagoda architecture has been lost over time. The new pagoda was built on the foundation of the ancient pagoda.

Last year, the owner of a coffee shop in Ke Sach District, Soc Trang Province also caused a stir in public opinion when he built a golden Buddha hand with painted fingernails on a 12,000 square ^meter plot of land.

According to Mr. Ho Chi Toai, the owner of the restaurant, in 2019, he applied for permission to build a restaurant and a rest stop and was granted permission by the People's Committee of Ke Sach District. However, during the construction process, he came up with many ideas and built more Golden Bridge, Great Wall, Leshan Giant Buddha, Sphinx, castle... to both do food and beverage business and serve tourists.

A spotted hand lifts a bridge in Da Lat that "imitates" the Golden Bridge in Da Nang.

In addition, tourists also encounter many other versions of "hands" at famous destinations in the country. "Golden Bridge in Da Lat - a version as beautiful as the original in Da Nang" (advertisement) with a spotted painted hand supporting the bridge. Da Lat alone has countless "hands" built to collect entrance fees from visitors taking photos.

Lao Cai also has a Buddha "hand" check-in point, located in a tourist area in Sa Pa city.

The problem of copying makes the destination poor

Mr. Truong Duc Hai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Far East Pearl Tourism Company, said that there is nothing wrong with "trendy" destinations following the preferences of domestic tourists. However, the current reckless construction of copies of famous check-in spots is unacceptable.

"There was a time when we saw 'stairway to heaven' or heart-shaped photo frames everywhere we went. Copying other people's ideas is the fastest way to invest and get the most return on investment, but it also shows that we are doing tourism too easily, contributing to lowering the value of the destination," said Mr. Hai.

The situation of copying tourism products in Vietnam has long been a problem. From the company perspective, units "copy and paste" tour programs, identical to every detail. Many companies spend time and money to research the market and destinations, then build tour programs, which are immediately copied by other units, competing on price. When they are larger, the destinations have identical products. In the West, where there is pond draining to catch fish, going to the garden to pick fruit, listening to traditional folk songs... then other places quickly appear with similar models.

"As a result, when coming to the West, many tourists complain to me that they only need to visit one province to understand the whole region. The plagiarism makes tourism products poor, making the destination lose its appeal to both domestic and international tourists," Mr. Hai emphasized.

Buddha's hand painted with green nails in Soc Trang

According to Mr. Hai, copying the image of the Golden Bridge in Ba Na Hills or copying a part of the Golden Bridge's architectural hand is a typical example of "theft" of intellectual property in the tourism business in Vietnam. However, equally serious is that the copying situation contributes to affecting the destination itself, and more importantly, the destination of Vietnam. "Each locality in Vietnam has its own cultural foundation, why not rely on that to create unique products for the destination instead of copying from elsewhere?", Mr. Hai asked.

Mr. Nguyen Chau A, Director of Oxalis Adventure Travel Company - the unit operating the Son Doong tour, said that tourism products are still the core of the problem of why Vietnam has not attracted many Western tourists in particular and international tourists in general. "Only with products can we promote the destination effectively. If we ask now what tourism products we have for European and American tourists, what products for Asian tourists, surely no one can answer. So what to promote?", Mr. Chau A emphasized.

Golden Bridge is a 150m long pedestrian bridge in Ba Na Hills resort located on top of Ba Na mountain in Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city. This bridge connects the cable car station with some sightseeing spots in the tourist area and is a place to admire the landscape from above.

The bridge, supported by two giant stone hands, was inaugurated in June 2018, at an altitude of more than 1,400m above sea level, after nearly 1 year of construction and completion, by a group of Vietnamese architects.

Golden Bridge has become famous everywhere, voted by many international newspapers as one of the most beautiful bridges in the world, becoming a check-in spot not to be missed when coming to Da Nang.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/loan-ban-tay-du-lich-o-viet-nam-185230328160222489.htm