Craft Village tourism

Export-led poverty reduction Programme support tourism at Kim Bong craft village

Being close to Hoi An, a popular tourism destination, Kim Bong Village attracts already a number of tourists, because of its traditional carpentry workshops and a scenic riverside landscape. Visitors to Hoi An stay currently no longer than one to two nights and undertake a short trip to Kim Bong Village only. Despite of the tourism potential of the village, Kim Bong community receives so far almost nothing from tourism and is hampered by the underdeveloped infrastructure of Cam Kim Island. A high incidence of poverty and a lack of decent employment opportunities are direct consequences of these drawbacks.

A Luoi - CBT tourism destination in Thua Thien Hue Province

SNV and WWF Greater Mekong – Vietnam Programme have been supporting CBT development in A Luoi, in the neighbouring Thue Thien Hue Province. A Luoi is the poorest district of TT-Hue province with a population of over 38,000. The majority of the population belong to ethnic minority groups and their livelihood mainly relies on the exploitation of forest resources and agriculture.

Lessons learnt for CBT model in Sapa

Sapa as destination is offered by various national and international tour agencies and with variety of tours to be chosen. One of the international tour operators with considerably good fame of eco-friendliness and quality, among the tourists and in international guidebooks, is Handspan . Handspan’s “Sa Pa Intermediate trekking tour” was chosen including 2 days / three nights stay and hiking in mountains rural area of Sapa. The trip included one nigh at home stay in EM village in the Ban Ho village.

Sapa – The first Community-based tourism initiative in Vietnam

The pilot “ Support to Sustainable Tourism in Sapa”, which is the very first community based tourism initiative in Vietnam, started in February 2001 and lasted until December 2003. The Tourism and Trade Section of Sapa District was the implementing body in Sapa and has the financial responsibility over the project, while SNV – The Netherlands Development Organisation, in close collaboration with IUCN (The World Conservation Union) provided advisory services to the project.

Vietnam traditional craft villages attract tourists

Vietnam traditional craft villages, with age-old cultural values and techniques that have been passed down from general to generation, handicraft villages have increasingly become appealing destinations for tourists. According to the Vietnam Crafts Association, the country is home to more than 2,000 craft villages each with their own traditional art practice. Villages range from specialising in lacquer painting, pottery and porcelain, embroidery and rattan knitting through to textiles, paper, folk print and many others.