Although the number of visitors to Con Son – Kiep Bac has increased, most of them traveled for spiritual purpose.
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The charming scenery of Con Son lake is suitable for eco-tourism services but has not been exploited adequately (Photo: Tang Ba Hanh)
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Cultural, historical factors combined with the sacredness and a majestic natural landscape have constituted the attraction to tourists of the Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site (Chi Linh, Hai Duong).
Although the number of arrivals of the following year is always greater than that of the previous year, Hai Duong has not fully exploited the inherent strengths of this relic site.
Visitors increase, services "stand still"The complex of Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site and Phuong Hoang mountain has long been attractive to visitors thanks to retained traces of celebrities, national heroes Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Trai, Chu Van An and a system of temples, pagodas famous for sacredness in the area.
Figures of the Management Unit of the Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site show an increase of 300,000 times of visitors to the area each year from 2008, from over 600,000 times in 2008 to more than 1.8 million times in 2012.
The Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site in 2012 was given the title of special national relic and is now known as one of the four addresses of the complex of Yen Tu mountain relics and beautiful sites (including the whole Yen Tu relic site, Tran Dynasty relic site in Dong Trieu, Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site, and West Yen Tu nature reserve) on which a dossier is being completed to seek UNESCO's recognition as a world heritage site.
With this advantage, Con Son – Kiep Bac has great potential to increase the number of tourists in the future.
The reputation and inherent number of visitors are a "gold mine" of the Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site which, however, has not been exploited adequately.
While the number of visitors is on the rise with every passing day, the tourist service system and tourism products have virtually remained "deadlocked" for many years. All services around the relic site, such as housing, photography, souvenirs, etc., are small, scattered, and spontaneous.
New direction needed
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Con Son relic site is crowded with tourists only during festive seasons. In the photo: The sacrifice procession on the way to Ngu Nhac temple. (Photo: Thanh Chung)
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Although the number of visitors to Con Son – Kiep Bac has increased, most of them traveled for spiritual purpose.
Meanwhile, the rich and diverse ecosystem of Con Son – Kiep Bac with mountains, pine forests, lakes, streams, etc. is suitable to ecotourism type.
The long-standing culture and history of the land can be exploited to expand tours to learn about the history of the culture, arts.
These are the gaps that need filling to attract tourists to Con Son – Kiep Bac frequently rather than just mainly during two festive seasons in spring and fall. With frequent visits of tourists, services will be able to survive and develop.
Le Duy Manh, Head of the Professional Division (Con Son – Kiep Bac Relic Management Unit) said the division in recent years had concernedly studied and had many ideas to create tourism products more attractive to visitors than the existing ones.
With the strong point of spiritual tourism, which has already attracted crowded pilgrims, a tour to learn about the Truc Lam Zen can be created through a combination with other tourist destinations in the region, such as the relic sites of Yen Tu and West Yen Tu.
A tour to sightseeing spots with traces of Tran Dynasty is also an enjoyable suggestion.
Tours to trade villages inside the Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site and its vicinity may be organized to exploit the strengths of handicrafts, especially the trade of growing Southern medicinal plants on Duoc Son mountain, where famous general Tran Hung Dao ordered medicinal plant growing to cure soldiers and the regional people. An exciting tour will be created by rebuilding the garden of medicinal plants as a sightseeing spot combined with visits to physicians who are still making up prescriptions in the region.
Besides, eco-tours on Cau river, visits to relic spots along the river banks, organization of entertainment, fishing services around Con Son lake area or countryside tours of climbing Con Son mountain, learning about the local fauna and flora, etc... can be developed.
To develop such new tourism forms, there must be a solution to improve the quality of accommodation services first.
The relic management unit needs to associate with other relic sites in Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, and Nam Dinh provinces to organize tours of learning about the Truc Lam Zen and Tran Dynasty.
After new tours are designed, it is necessary to promote widely and coordinate with tourist companies inside and outside the province to attract visitors.
VIET HOA
