Going to Thailand to study the philosophy of 'sufficient' in community tourism

In 2024, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Ben Tre Province implemented the project "Sustainable Development of Coastal Communities Based on Ecotourism and Applying the Philosophy of Sufficient Economics" in Binh Dai district.

The project is sponsored by the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand). Participating in the project are five tourism units in Binh Dai district, including Ut Trinh Ben Tre Homestay (Tam Hiep commune), Nguoi Giu Rung Homestay (Thanh Phuoc commune), Con Ba Tu Homestay (Thoi Thuan commune), Le Phong tourist facility (Thua Duc commune), Ba Lai tourist facility (Thanh Tri commune), and local community.

The project has opened three training classes on skills to build community tourism products for coastal communes with 71 students. This activity is imparted by lecturers of Can Tho Vocational Tourism College.

Philosophy of "sufficient" to ensure the capacity of the environment

Project participants receive training, education, and practical experience at tourist destinations in Thailand to apply at their units. At the same time, gradually consolidate, perfect, and develop the system of technical facilities and service quality to serve tourists at the unit. As initial results, project participants have built new products; the quality of old products as well as tourist services have been improved. Besides, activities of tourist destinations have been linked together, such as Ut Trinh Tam Hiep Homestay linking with Nguoi Giu Rung Homestay and Con Ba Tu Homestay.

"The project has created trust with the philosophy of 'sufficient economics' to serve the development of not only the tourism industry but also people's economics and daily lives. At the same time, create the spread and response of the local community and attract many local households to participate in the community tourism model in Binh Dai district, especially in coastal communes," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Ben Tre Province.

Ms. Le Thi Kim Linh, Director of Con Ba Tu Homestay Co., Ltd. (Thoi Thuan commune), shared that through the project's training work, the unit's current physical facilities and service quality are being invested in innovating and upgrading, in addition to searching and linking to develop new products. Participating in building a community tourism model for Binh Dai district, this homestay is linking with five tourist destinations to create four products (tourist routes).

Besides, Con Ba Tu Homestay also links with nine households in Thoi Thuan commune to develop community tourism products for the commune. Destinations can be mentioned as Mr. Chin's watermelon garden, the beach at Chai Muoi island, oyster farming households, fishing households, mango growing households, etc.

In the coming time, Ms. Kim Linh proposes that the locality allow the use of cultural headquarters that have not yet fully exploited their functions as a place to disseminate on natural environmental protection, display local products, and organize events or rural markets to promote the image and consumption of local agricultural products.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Vang, owner of Nguoi Giu Rung Homestay in Thanh Phuoc commune, said that the business is taking advantage of the locality's ecological materials, such as trees, thatched houses, and seafood under the forest canopy, to highlight, promote, and introduce to tourists. Through learning the experience of Thai people on doing community tourism, especially building the philosophy of "sufficient economics" into operations at his facility, Mr. Vang said that enhancing staff training so that they know how to tell stories, bringing daily stories into tourism products, and letting tourists directly experience the rustic activities of indigenous people can be applied immediately.

"Applying the philosophy of 'sufficient economics,' we do not make things too big to ensure the capacity of the environment. Tourists coming here will have their own space to experience, which is comfortable and not crowded. Additionally, we will build a point of sale for local specialties, thereby promoting the image of Binh Dai to tourists and also providing an opportunity to connect output for OCOP-certified product manufacturers," shared Mr. Nguyen Tan Vang.

Perfect so that tourists leave but still come back

Informing the development orientation of the tourism industry, especially community tourism in Binh Dai, Mr. Nguyen Van Lon, Secretary of the Binh Dai District Party Committee, said: "Right from the beginning of the term, the district has issued a tourism development plan in this period, as well as the orientation to 2030 with a vision to 2045. Currently, the entire district has about 10 tourism businesses and facilities. This number is quite large compared to the remaining localities of the province. The district has many attractive tourist destinations, typically Van Phuoc Pagoda, which attracts a large number of tourists but has not been promoted. Therefore, Binh Dai's tourism has not yet developed to match its potential."

To contribute to the development of Binh Dai's tourism industry, Secretary of the Binh Dai District Party Committee Nguyen Van Lon requested the District People's Committee to coordinate with the Provincial Tourism Promotion Center to strengthen promoting the image of local tourism while connecting with localities inside and outside the province, especially coordinating travel agencies, to form tours and tourist routes in Binh Dai.

Besides, study and exchange experiences in tourism development with localities inside and outside the province to match the province's perceived potential. Promoting study outcomes in Thailand, it is necessary to strengthen state management of tourism to ensure environmental landscape, security and order, food safety, and safety for tourists coming to the locality.

For tourism units participating in the project, it is necessary to promote study results and apply the philosophy of "sufficient economics" to accompany the district's tourism industry for sustainable development. In addition, each facility needs to actively invest in perfecting physical facilities and improving service quality so that tourists come, return, and introduce many others.

The project "Sustainable Development of Coastal Communities based on Ecotourism and Applying the Philosophy of Sufficient Economics" in Binh Dai district, when successfully implemented for a group of five businesses, will continue to spread throughout the district and the province, helping the tourism industry of Binh Dai in particular and Ben Tre province in general develop sustainably.