Nghe
An province has great potential for cultural tourism. In this photo, a
traditional boat race held during the Con Temple festival in Nghe An’s
Hoang Mai town.
Starting from Nghe An
Recently, a symposyum on preserving and promoting cultural heritage
values associated with local heritage economic development in the
central province of Nghe An has been held in Vinh city, with an aim of
consulting experts to complete a project on surveying solutions to
promote heritage economic development (pilot in several typical local
museums and monuments).
Nghe An has 2,602 relics and scenic spots, with 415 listed as provincial
and national ranked monuments, this number is only projected to
increase in the future. However, not only in Nghe An but also in many
other provinces and cities across the country, instead of becoming a
driving force for development, such relics have been a burden for the
State and the local communities. Nghe An wants to change that
perception. It is the first and only place so far in Vietnam that has
decided to approve a plan for its relic system by 2030, with a vision to
2050, in which the concept of "heritage economy" has been mentioned for
the first time. It is a new definition not only for Nghe An and
Vietnam, but also for the world.
For many developed countries, cultural tourism has become an agent that
stimulates tourism efficiency. A 2009 study on cultural and heritage
tourism in the US showed that 78% of US visitors participated in
cultural activities and/or visited heritages when traveling, up to 118.3
million guests every year. Cultural tourists use an average of US$994
per trip compared to US$ 611 for other types of leisure travellers and
contribute about US$192 billion per year to the US economy.
Suggestions for developing heritage economy
Heritage economy needs to be understood as a form of development based
on existing values (natural and social values). Heritage in a broad
sense, exists in every aspect of life. Digital economy, big data,
sharing economy (Uber, Grab), Internet of things, difference of
products, creative value and added value are also forms of heritage
economy.
The case of Bilbao (Spain) can be mentioned, as a typical example of
creating a cause to transform the whole region: from a city that has
been almost forgotten, but since the inauguration of the Guggenheim
Museum Bilbao in 1997, the number of tourists has increased and reached
one million in 2012, about three times the population of the city.
Another experience is the famous Japanese franchise Pokémon. Originating
from a video game, derivative products from Pokémon, including comics,
movies, toys, cards and home entertainment services, have generated
revenues of up to US$90 billion, becoming the best seller media
franchise brand of all time.
In Vietnam, the ancient town of Hoi An is also a successful example of
good orientation in bringing heritage back to the community, governed by
the community and thus serving that community.
So what should be done to transform the heritage economy into a growth
driver for a region, a locale, a nation or even the world?
First of all, expertes have said that it is necessary to establish the
position of the foundation group and then completing the legal framework
and implementing a number of steps, proceeding in three stages
(depending on the conditions of each locality):
Phase I: It is crucial to complete research on solutions to developing
the heritage economy and putting them in a pilot for some typical
relics, heritage and museums that are favourable for calling for
investment. It is also important to develop heritage economic projects
in sub-regions and localities, with the selection of core relics and
heritages that are attractive to guests, combined with promoting
investment into tourism and other economic sectors to indirectly invest
in conservation and exploitation of heritages. Experts also suggested to
develop plans for each key heritage area to attract investors at the
selected sites.
Phase II focuses on replication of the model of integrating each
heritage with each community to develop typical cultural and tourism
products, with the support of the expert community and also the business
community. That means promoting linkage between local heritages with
the business community and local residents. It also requires to
establish mechanisms and policies under specific groups and heritages,
while handling over heritages to the community to be responsible for
managing and exploiting.
In Phase III, completed privatisation of the conservation work and
bringing the heritage economic issues into local universal development
programmes is a must.
The concerned organisations, businesses and residents will find their
own solutions to develop heritage economy, thus helping promote
community-based initiatives and transform them into the country's
economic development motivation.
Hopefully, in the near future, the heritage economy will be a new growth
engine, creating a breakthrough for the country’s economic development
and enhancing the local and national position towards sustainable
development with the core is the participation of the whole society.
Up until now, Vietnam has more than 40,000 relics and landscapes, of
which over 3,000 ones are classified as national monuments and 105 among
them are special national relics with eight being world heritage sites.
Source: NDO