Fields, forests, streams, craft
villages, orchards… are gradually becoming the new 'destinations' for
tourists visiting the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City. Rural tourism has
now opened up opportunities for sustainable development for communities and
revitalized the countryside.
Saigon travel
The countryside is changing.
Suoi Rao Ecolodge (Xuan Son commune, Ho Chi Minh City ) is situated on a
gentle hillside, connected to the lush green Xuan Son protective forest. Few
can imagine that nearly 20 years ago, this area was just a barren, rocky
wasteland, where only short-term crops like beans, corn, and cassava were
grown seasonally.
Ms. Le Thi Nga, owner of Suoi Rao Ecolodge, said: “Initially, I only thought
of transforming my 5-hectare plot of barren, rocky land in Suoi Rao into a
biodiversity forest to satisfy my passion. To date, the garden has over 1
million trees of various kinds, turning the desolate land into an ecological
forest with hills, native trees, medicinal plants, vegetables, flowers,
birds, and animals…”
After establishing a diverse ecosystem, I aimed for green tourism”. And the
green tourism journey began from there. Suoi Rao Ecolodge now has a
restaurant, a tea room, and dozens of villas ranging from 30-140m2, built
entirely with environmentally friendly materials such as natural fired
bricks, tile roofs, bamboo, and wood… with architecture inspired by the
traditional three-compartment houses of Northern and Central Vietnam, as
well as the stilt houses of the Central Highlands.
Since September 2024, Suoi Rao Ecolodge has been recognized by the Institute
for Applied Research and Business Innovation (3AI) as the first Net Zero
Station in the eastern part of the city. Tourists from all over the world
have flocked to Suoi Rao Ecolodge to enjoy the fresh air and immerse
themselves in the rural nature.
Singh Sukhmandeep, a tourist from Hong Kong, said after a two-week stay at
Suoi Rao Ecolodge: “I truly escaped the hustle and bustle of the city and
enjoyed the peaceful countryside atmosphere in the eastern part of Ho Chi
Minh City.”
Similarly, in recent years, farmers have transformed cocoa-growing areas in
eastern Ho Chi Minh City into parks and experiential destinations for
tourists. Binon Cacao Park, located in Chau Duc commune (Ho Chi Minh City),
covers an area of ??46 hectares, showcasing cocoa cultivation and
production, becoming a unique agricultural tourism and experiential
destination in the locality.
Here, visitors can not only admire the scenery but also tour the cocoa
orchards laden with fruit, taste the sweet and sour flavor of fresh cocoa
beans, and observe the entire process from planting, harvesting,
fermentation, drying, shelling, etc., to producing cocoa beans.
According to the leaders of Chau Duc commune, Binon Cacao is a model of
clean agriculture combined with tourism. This can be considered one of the
unique tourism products, making an important contribution to the economic
development of the locality.
Also capitalizing on the peaceful atmosphere of the countryside, the
ecotourism model at Tu Phuong That Dao (Tam Long ward, Ho Chi Minh City)
aims to help people harmonize with nature to discover the sustainable values
??of life.
The Tu Phuong That Dao eco-tourism area was completed in 2016 on an area of
??3 hectares. After several renovations, the area now features structures
with a distinctly rustic countryside feel; three sides are surrounded by
vast rice fields, and the remaining side by orchards and livestock pens.
Thatched huts are built on seven rectangular artificial islands, surrounded
by a system of canals and waterways...
Developing agriculture in conjunction with tourism.
Recently, in rural communes in the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City such as
Xuan Son, Chau Duc, Xuyen Moc, Dat Do, Ho Tram, and Long Son,
community-based ecotourism and agricultural tourism combined with
experiential activities have been developing strongly...
These models have opened up great opportunities for economic development,
transforming many purely agricultural areas into attractive tourist
destinations; combining agricultural production and serving tourists. This,
in turn, extends the length of tourist stays, increases spending, and boosts
income for local people…
Mr. Trinh Van Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Binon Cacao Joint
Stock Company (the investor and manager of Binon Cacao Park), said that
Binon Cacao officially opened in May 2019. Each year, Binon Cacao attracts
more than 10,000 visitors, including many international tourists from South
Korea, Japan, Canada, and the United States.
"In the future, we will coordinate with the local authorities to expand the
area, connect with farmers growing agricultural crops and fruit trees around
the region, especially cocoa trees, following sustainable organic farming
practices to expand the agricultural tourism experience. At the same time,
we will build a chain of clean, standardized products to serve locals and
tourists who want to enjoy and purchase them right at the farm," said Thanh.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, the eastern part of
the city has favorable natural conditions and climate, along with tens of
kilometers of coastline, a system of lakes, rivers, streams, and fields…
These are ideal conditions for the locality to diversify its tourism
products.
The city's tourism industry is focusing on developing high-quality tourism
products and community-based tourism in rural areas. However, depending on
the geographical location and natural conditions of each region, the
development direction will vary.
Source:
https://saigontraveltour.com/sai-gon-travel-blog/rural-tourism-transforms-eastern-ho-chi-minh-city/
