Khanh Hoa: Creating attraction for tourism to the source

Visitors view the last letter of hero and martyr Tran Van Phuong
 displayed at the Gac Ma Soldier Memorial Area.

Visiting historical sites or memorial sites is not simply a tourist experience, but also an opportunity for each person to deeply feel the glorious past of the nation. Khanh Hoa Tourism Industry needs to pay more attention to promoting tours to visit “red addresses”.

Many "red addresses" can become destinations

Recently, the delegation participating in the program "Exchange of typical examples in studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style in the Central Highlands region in 2024" visited the Gac Ma Soldiers Memorial Area (Cam Hai Dong Commune, Cam Lam District). After offering incense at the monument "Those who lie on the horizon", the delegation visited the underground museum - where the relics of 64 martyrs who died while on duty to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland in the Gac Ma - Co Lin - Len Dao sea area in 1988 are kept. The stories about the heroic sacrifices of heroes and martyrs Tran Duc Thong and Tran Van Phuong; the last letters and relics of naval soldiers; the hearts of the mothers of Gac Ma martyrs or the journey to find photos for martyr Tran Quoc Tri... told by the tour guide made many people unable to hold back their tears. Many delegates in the delegation said that they will return to Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa with their families to visit and learn more about the Gac Ma Soldier Memorial, as well as some other revolutionary historical sites in Khanh Hoa. "Among the 64 martyrs who died in Gac Ma, there are many children of Quang Tri. I want my children to come here to learn more about the heroic history of their ancestors, to know about the sacrifices of the heroic martyrs in the struggle to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland" - Ms. Thu Thuy - an officer of the Propaganda Department of the Quang Tri Provincial Party Committee shared.

In addition to Gac Ma, Khanh Hoa also has many other historical revolutionary relics such as: Ninh Hoa Palace associated with the demonstration on July 16, 1930, Nha Trang station - the place where the 101 days and nights of resistance against the French by the army and people of Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa began, the C235 train memorial site (Ninh Van commune, Ninh Hoa town) - where hero Nguyen Phan Vinh and his comrades sacrificed their lives while transporting weapons to support the southern battlefield... These "red addresses" can completely become attractive source tourism tours. However, in reality, the exploitation of historical and revolutionary relic values ​​in tourism activities has not yet brought about the expected results. Travel agencies are not very interested in organizing tours to the source because the destination's infrastructure is still weak, the service staff is not professional, there is a lack of connection, tour program development... Referring to this issue, Mr. Nguyen Phi Hong Nguyen - Sales Director of Viet Promotion Service and Tourism Company Limited frankly shared: "Travel agencies in Khanh Hoa still organize tours to visit "red addresses" at the Gac Ma Soldier Memorial Site, the C235 Ship Memorial Site when groups of tourists have a need. However, up to now, no company has regularly organized tours to the source, promoted tours to "red addresses"...".

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh - Director of the Department of Tourism: The province and the tourism industry strongly encourage businesses to coordinate with localities to build and exploit origin tours, bringing tourists to visit "red addresses". Currently, some businesses have organized tours, but the connection, introduction and promotion of tours are still limited... The Department of Tourism will propose that the Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Tourism Association work with localities to build specific tours and routes, promote communication and promotion to attract domestic and foreign tourists; thereby promoting the history of Vietnam.


According to representatives of travel agencies, Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa tourism has many products to introduce to tourists such as: Visiting the sea, islands, visiting relics - famous landscapes in Nha Trang city, mud bath, going on eco-tours at Yang Bay Tourist Park (Khanh Phu commune, Khanh Vinh district) ... A tourist coming to Nha Trang for 2 - 3 days cannot experience all the famous products and destinations of Agarwood tourism. Therefore, no business is enthusiastic about investing in building tours to visit "red addresses", because this type of tourism is very difficult to attract tourists. "The number of relics that are truly valuable and attractive enough for tourists is not much, so building a tour is quite difficult, the facilities at the destinations are limited, there is a lack of tour guides at the destinations ... To make a quality tour, there must be coordination between many parties, it is very difficult for a business alone", said Mr. Nguyen.

Need coordination and connection

In recent times, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee have issued many directives on promoting the value of cultural heritage in tourism activities, including promoting historical revolutionary relics. To do this, there must be coordination between departments, branches and local authorities. First of all, to develop tourism to the source, it is necessary to survey and evaluate the current status of historical revolutionary relics, from which there is a plan to restore and upgrade infrastructure serving tourism, creating a basis for linking and building tours and routes. At the same time, it is necessary to train and develop tour guides for "red addresses", organize the collection of touching stories associated with relics to be able to create attraction for the relics. In reality, what makes a visit to historical and cultural sites meaningful is the storytelling ability of tour guides and tour guides, or in other words, the tour guides and tour guides are the soul to create the attraction of destinations and tours to the source. For example, the Gac Ma Soldier Memorial always leaves an impression on visitors because there is a team of highly qualified guides. They have collected real stories during their work here to add to their explanations, creating a realistic, vivid story that captures the emotions of visitors.

Regarding the construction and exploitation of tours to "red addresses", Mr. Truong Si Hai Trinh - Deputy Head of Information and Communication Department, Institute of Oceanography suggested that currently, the Gac Ma Soldier Memorial Site is making a very good impression on visitors, but if it is only this one point, it is very difficult to build it into a tour. However, if businesses combine with the Oceanographic Museum, it is possible to build a comprehensive tour on the issue of protecting sovereignty over seas and islands. In the museum, there is a Presence in the East Sea Exhibition Room (with many maps, images, and artifacts showing that Vietnamese people exercised sovereignty over seas and islands in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa many centuries ago); Truong Sa Park; marine biodiversity in Truong Sa - Hoang Sa. After that, visitors will visit the Gac Ma Soldier Memorial to learn more about the heroic history of preserving the nation's sovereignty over the sea and islands, typically the struggle to protect sovereignty in Gac Ma - Co Lin - Len Dao in 1988... Exploiting tours associated with the story of sovereignty over the sea and islands will be very meaningful on the diplomatic front of our country.
*Xuan Thanh, Khanh Hoa Electronic Newspaper - baokhanhhoa.vn
Keywords: Khanh Hoa,travel back to the source,