Rural tourism experience of Japanese agricultural cooperatives

Scientific conference "Development of rural agro-tourism services and improving business efficiency for agricultural cooperatives: Experiences from Japan", organized by the School of Public Policy and Rural Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) held on May 26 in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Dong, Rector of the School of Public Policy and Rural Development, Japan is a country where cooperatives and rural tourism activities have developed and remained strong for a long time.

Japanese cooperatives have achieved many admirable results. According to the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), in 2022 Japan had 22 cooperatives in the list of 300 largest cooperatives globally.

Japanese cooperatives organize various services such as agricultural and rural tourism services in various forms, effectively combining rural resources and attracting many tourists. As a result, Japanese products and cultural values are widely spread to many countries.

At the conference, Dr. Matsuda Masahiro, former director of the Department of International Cooperation (Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union - JCCU), said that Vietnam is expected to enter the group of 20 leading global economic powers by 2036. Therefore, the demand for sightseeing tours of officials and members of agricultural cooperatives may increase rapidly in the future.

Dr. Matsuda Masahiro shared many experiences in rural tourism of Japanese agricultural cooperatives, including the experiential tourism service model of Minami Shinshu Tourism Bureau, with more than 200 "real experience tours" in many fields. These tours are the fruit of the cooperation and collaboration of more than 1,000 people living in Minami Shinshu's natural environment.

In detail, the people of Minami Shinshu will guide visitors through their daily work, life, and hobbies, while enjoying the natural beauty and local historical value together. Through these experiential activities, the community and visitors interact with each other, generating more ideas and spiritual values.

Most tour programs are designed to help visitors "live slow" in the flow of time. Instead of temporary emotions, visitors take time to reflect on many different things, enjoy the journey together, and be proud and passionate about discovery. At Minami Shinshu, visitors can experience "nature's blessing", "the wealth of living in harmony with nature" and "the nourishing power of human harmony", which are values often lost in modern urban life.