Faded "Golden season of Quang Nam"

The highlands of Quang Nam have suitable locations for "cloud hunting" tours, but currently they are still mostly spontaneous without proper organization. Photo: QT

First launch was bumpy

This is the first year the tourism stimulus program “Golden Season of Quang Nam” has been organized. The stimulus package was announced in April 2024 with the expectation of improving the decline in the number of visitors during the low season (from September to November) and creating new experiences with local identity for tourists to Quang Nam with promising programs such as: “Moss-covered ancient town”, “Hoi An in the flood season”, “New rice festival”, “Greening golden season”…

Going into the program, the stimulus is calculated to be divided into 2 phases according to weather characteristics. From September to the first half of October when the sunny weather is still dominant, the focus will be on attracting customers related to the theme of "golden season". And from the second half of October to the end of November when the rainy season is at its peak, the product will be aimed at the group of customers who "love the rainy season".

However, some activities or seasonal features in localities can be incorporated to attract visitors such as: creative camps, rice harvest season in Quang Nam terraced fields, "New Rice Festival", cloud hunting and overnight camping in the great forest... all pass quietly like every year, if there are visitors, they are only sporadic and spontaneous without any clear highlights.

Mr. Le Quoc Viet - Chairman of the Quang Nam Destination Club preserving indigenous values ​​(Quang Nam Tourism Association) acknowledged that the stimulus program "Golden Season of Quang Nam" up to this point has not brought about the expected results.

Possible reasons include erratic weather; lack of strong participation from relevant stakeholders; lack of funding for promotion and advertising...

“Since the program was established, I myself have hoped that the authorities would be able to organize the program “Quang Nam Day in Hanoi ”, because one of the key markets targeted when implementing low-season stimulus is the middle-aged and elderly customer group in the North, but in the end it was not possible to do so.

However, initially, the club has also set up a website to promote and advise customers on tour planning. At the same time, it has connected and established a system of "locals" at many destinations in the province to support groups of tourists coming to Quang Nam during the low season, which is a good foundation for the future," said Mr. Viet.

Product ambiguity

According to the initial outline, the product packages in the stimulus program will guide tourists to experience local cultural stories such as sea and island culture, heritage culture, cultural flow from Ngoc Linh peak to Thu Bon river... and use the local people as storytellers so that tourists can clearly understand the beauty of this land. But this expectation cannot be realized without regular and specific tours.

Exploring “Hoi An in the flood season” depends on weather conditions and has not been systematically managed. Photo: QT

According to Mr. Dinh Van Loc - Director of Viet Da Tourism Joint Stock Company (Da Nang), although the unit regularly connects customers to Quang Nam, it does not know much about the program "Golden Season of Quang Nam".

Meanwhile, one of the key factors to effectively stimulate demand is that the information density to travel agencies and target customer markets must be attractive and widely covered.

“In fact, it is very difficult to stimulate demand in Quang Nam during this low season, because apart from a few familiar destinations, the products that Quang Nam plans to stimulate demand are quite vague.

Meanwhile, what the travel agency needs is for the product to take place regularly or at least be guaranteed to take place at the scheduled time in the tour provided to customers.

If we only promote in general terms or on the day of the event there is a high risk of postponement or cancellation due to weather reasons... it will be difficult for the business and create a bad impression of the destination for the customer experience" - Mr. Loc shared.

In general, according to the assessment of tourism businesses, Quang Nam's launching of a tourism stimulus program during the low season is necessary, but to create practical effects, many things need to be improved. If it continues to be implemented in the following years, Quang Nam needs to have a master plan with the response and synchronous participation of related parties.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nhat-nhoa-mua-vang-xu-quang-3142795.html