Hanoi promotes craft village tourism

Advantages from the Land of Hundreds of Occupations

Hanoi currently has about 1,350 craft villages with more than 300 traditional craft villages. Each craft village has its own unique identity. In particular, many of them have become tourist destinations, attracting a large number of visitors, such as Bat Trang Pottery, Van Phuc Silk, Phu Vinh Bamboo and Rattan Weaving, Son Dong Statue Carving village, etc.

Tourists at Van Phuc Silk Village - photo: Minh Phu

They have created much potential for tourism development in Hanoi, which can be linked with other tourism products for sustainable development.

According to experts, developing craft village tourism is considered to bring dual economic benefits, both creating jobs, increasing income for local people while preserving and conserving traditional cultural values. Therefore, Hanoi has identified craft village tourism products as its strength, and has proactively issued specific plans, projects to build and complete tourism products... Specifically, the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade has promoted display and sales of Hanoi craft village products in showrooms, connected tours to bring visitors to the showrooms; provided consultancy for new product designs for 30 handicraft production establishments with a total of 186 products created, including 46 models for the tourism sector.

Hanoi Department of Tourism has also carried out plans to improve the quality of tourism products, tourist destinations associated with heritage - relics, and craft villages in districts and town in Hanoi in the 2021-2025 period.

Tourist destinations associated with preserving craft villages

To help craft village tourism commensurate with its potential and advantages, Nguyen Tien Dat - CEO of AZA Travel, said that Hanoi needs to build a product display area so that customers can easily visit, shop and experience the production process.

Production activities at craft villages always attract tourists - photo: VNA

In 2022, the Hanoi People’s Committee issued Plan 73/KH-UBND on developing agricultural and rural tourism associated with building new rural areas in Hanoi for the 2022-2025 period. One of the general goals of the plan is to develop and diversify rural economy through developing community tourism, eco-tourism, and craft village tourism associated with potential and advantageous agriculture - forestry - fisheries to improve the rural people’s living standards.

In the coming time, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Trung Hieu said that Hanoi strives to develop three to five high-quality tours associated with the preservation and exploitation of craft villages. It will also focus on training local people to become tour guides to foster craft village tourism; encourage involvements of travel agencies as well as units in the private sector to develop tourism infrastructure at craft village tourist destinations.

In addition, in the period of 2024 - 2025, the Hanoi Department of Tourism will continue to complete specific products associated with the values of heritage elements, relics and craft villages along the route: Hanoi Center - Thanh Tri District - Thuong Tin District - Phu Xuyen District. “In addition, Hanoi will focus on promoting cultural tourism products to position and widely promote the Hanoi tourism brand based on the outstanding values of heritage, traditional culture and lifestyle of Hanoians,” Tran Trung Hieu said.