Hanoi has great potential for developing flower tourism. It is time for the city to pay attention to comprehensive investment in flower tourism and make it a specialty of the city and a special tourist product, contributing to increasing income for farmers and attracting tourists to the capital.
Poor product
| Flowers at Quang Ba night flower market. Photo: Kinh te & Do thi |
Not only famous for its beautiful landscapes, Hanoi is also blessed by the typical flower seasons that make visitors fall in love. Every time when flower season comes, Hanoi puts on a new shirt. In Spring, peach blossoms cover the city in pink. In summer, it changes the colour into white of lilies and smells the pleasant scent of lotus. In autumn, it becomes “sweeter” with the scent of blackboard flowers.
Mentioning about flowers in Hanoi, it is also about the traditional flower villages that become inspiration for poetry, such as Ngoc Ha, Nghi Tam, Nhat Tan and Quang Ba. Every year when Lunar New Year Festival arrives, Hanoi opens the Spring flower markets which are also considered as an attractive tourism resource of Hanoi.
In addition to the traditional flower craft villages, in recent years, the suburbs of Hanoi have also developed strongly the profession of growing flowers and ornamental plants, forming specialized intensive production areas. This is a key condition for developing flower-eco tours.
| Ho Tay flower valley. Photo: Duy Khanh |
Despite the great potential for tourism, in fact, Hanoi has yet exploited this “gold mine” effectively. Some tours to the flower villages are mostly for sightseeing and are offered spontaneously by some households. Moreover, trade and tourism promotion for this type of product has not properly received attention.
Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute for Culture Research and Development – Dr. Pham Viet Long said “The potential for developing flower tourism in Hanoi is very large but to turn flowers into a unique tourism product, Hanoi has still a long way to go.
Flower tourism products of Hanoi are still very poor and monotonous. “Born and grew up in Hanoi, I feel envy with people in Ha Giang province. Only with buckwheat flower, Ha Giang has changed into a special tourist attraction, each year attracting millions of tourists to visit and enjoy the flower,” he said.
Towards professional and sustainable growth
| Tay Tuu flower market. Photo: Kinh te & Do thi. |
According to Dr. Pham Viet Long, in Hanoi, flower villages can completely develop into attractive flower tourist spots. However, the biggest challenge of the flower growing villages in Hanoi today is the infrastructure.
Traditional flower villages in inner-city areas such as Ngoc Ha, Nhat Tan, Nghi Tam, among others are facing the process of urbanization. Meanwhile, suburban flower villages are developing spontaneously. On the other hand, the land policy is also making it difficult for businesses to invest in this kind of tourism.
Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Ta Van Tuong said that in order to effectively exploit the potential for flower tourism, it needs to promote the cooperation among the state, enterprises, people and media.
| Quang Ba night flower is a tourist attraction in the capital. Photo: Kinh te & Do thi |
It is also neccessary to make a change in the perception of the regulators and people about the role of flower tourism. Farmers need to actively build and develop flower villages and farms being mindful of flower tourism, while localities set up plan for sustainable development.
Garden and farm owners have to actively cooperate with tourism businesses to be included their tour programs and participate in promotional activities, including flower festivals, flower exhibitions, flower fairs, among others.
Hanoi also needs to improve its infrastructure, create favorable conditions for farms and cooperatives to build accommodation service for tourists.
Hanoi currently has 11 models of experiencing farm education tourism and four cooperatives participating in this potential field, according to Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Ta Van Tuong.
