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| Young tourists from Ho Chi Minh City excited with photos from the photo tour |
Versatile experience
With a 4-day, 3-night itinerary, Dieu Linh and her friend explored, checked in, and preserved their moments of youthfulness at beautiful locations from Hue to Hoi An. Along the journey, in addition to their companionship, the tour guide also served as a consultant and photographer.
Le Thanh Tam, the tour guide, stated: “A photo tour is a combined tourism activity so that tourists can both ‘burn out’ with the passion for photography and have unique and interesting travel experiences (often referred to artistic photo tours, mainly for professional photographers). Later, photo tours have had certain changes as more travelers seek to capture beautiful moments in lesser-known destinations, as well as gorgeous sites they visit and discover. This is a regular photo tour, a type of tourism that brings attraction when combining travel with photography activities for the tourists.”
As a tour guide specializing in regular photo tours, Mr. Tam added: “To adapt to the schedule of a photo tour and become a photo tour guide, in addition to understanding common locations, guides need to constantly update themselves on new, attractive, and lesser-known places to create allure. Additionally, they must be passionate about photography in order to capture the ideal moments, times, and places so that tourists can completely enjoy this fascinating travel experience.”
With that versatility, when participating in a photo tour, tourists will have unique and appealing experiences. Dieu Linh shared: “Aside from the temples, tombs, and the Imperial City, I also had relaxing moments, immersing myself with nature at Quang Loi Pond, Ru Cha. Even though I had to wake up early to reach the tourist spots, it was so worth as I had truly 'chill' moments and captured beautiful photos of the magnificent sunrise, the unique radiance of the lagoon area”.
Added allure
No longer just a form of travel for photography enthusiasts, photo tour activities have now expanded their scope so that everyone can experience the allure of Hue's natural beauty, landmarks, and people.
Mr. Tam said: “In addition to the destination's appeal, the demand for photo tours is increasing due to the influence of social media and current social trends. Many people, especially young ones, wish to keep lovely photos of the places they visit. Or, to put it another way, the beauty of these photos adds additional attraction and experience for travelers when deciding where to explore and visit.”
Not only Mr. Tam, but many tour guides have caught up with the trend, innovating themselves to enhance service quality by learning photography skills and investing in cameras, lenses, and even lights and accessories. Nguyen Hoai Thong, a tour guide with over 2 years of experience in photo tours, explained: “I had to learn a lot to retain my own passion for photography while enhancing the service experience for tourists. Knowledge can be acquired, but enthusiasm is indispensable to ensure that after visiting, travelers will have beautiful photos in Hue.”
Along with bringing more options and appeal to the destination, photo tours are also an exciting experience, allowing many young people leave their stamp on the voyage of their youth. Summer is typically the busiest season for photo tours. However, because of the attractiveness of the service, many young people have opted to visit Hue during this period to learn the culture and food, as well as taking beautiful photos.
Hoai Thuong, a female tourist from Hanoi currently experiencing a photo tour in Hue, said: "With a photo tour, the tour guide understands and helps me capture truly beautiful moments. I was able to enjoy the vacation much more by combining travel, sightseeing, and photography, and I always had a 'present' for myself, which is images with Hue to bring back home.”