“Three countries - one destination”: discovering Indochina heritage

According to the assessment of Hue tourism sector, heritage, culture, history and the sea of three countries Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, etc., are the factors contributing to constructing the tour “Three countries – One destination” or the itinerary “Discovering Indochina heritage”; and Hue is defined as an important stop of this journey.

Seaside Resort increases the perfection of the tour “Three countries – One destination”. Photo: Van Dinh Huy

Restarting

Tourism Department informed that the travel tour to discover three countries Vietnam – Laos – Cambodia with the theme “Three countries – One destination” was exploited by the domestic tourism enterprises over 10 years ago. However, the efficiency was not as expected. At that time, the long time of traveling by road across the 3 countries due to difficulty in transportation was considered to be the main reason why this cooperation in tourism development has not been boosted.

In terms of the attraction of the tour to discover 3 countries Vietnam – Laos – Cambodia, the Travel Management Office of Tourism Department said that 3 countries have both similarities and differences to supplement and build up the attractive tours. In terms of tourism potential, three countries own the constructions and wonders bestowed by nature, together with many special and unique cultural features.

In which, Vietnam has many UNESCO-recognized heritages such as The Complex of Hue Monument, Hue royal court music, Hoi An ancient town, My Son Sanctuary, Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, and the space of Gong culture in the Vietnam Central Highlands, etc.

The main tourist market of the tour “Three countries – One destination” is Western Europe and North America countries, etc. Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Chairman of the Provincial Travel Association said that in these markets, most of the tourists are from France. Because three Indochinese countries are the former French colonies, therefore in addition to the senior tourists, a great number of younger tourists come to learn about the history and express the desire of healing the wounds of war their ancestors have left to three countries.

At the conference on “Tourism Development in the Central Region and Highlands”, the lead tourism specialists said that with the current development and integration, it is required that tourism has to have inter-regional linkages. The plan of tourism development in Central Region and Highlands in the coming time also defines the concentration to the transnational linkages. Hence, they will focus on boosting and better developing the tour “Three countries – One destination” combining with the tour “The heritage road of Central Region” to create the attractive and quality chain of tourism products.

At the foot of Angkor Wat: Photo: DT

Central region is defined as a center of the linkage between 3 countries Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The specialists considered that the traffic infrastructure in the Central region is being invested to complete on both aviation, railway, seaway and road. Therefore, the provinces in Central region need to better take advantages of this resource to make the better regional linkages in tourism development.

“One-day cycling – Eating in three countries”

Leaders of Tourism sector assessed, from the work of defining Central area is the center of 3 countries’ linkage, Hue is the most important destination. The reason why Hue is chosen in this tour is that, when coming to Hue, tourist do not only have chance to discover heritages and culture, but also discover and visit the old battlefields in A Luoi, as well as relic Chin Ham and experience having a rest in resorts which are inherent in beach and lagoon.

Mr. Hoang Van Khanh, Director of Vietravel in Hue said that over the past years, the number of tourists in the tour “Three countries – One destination” held by the company still remains stable. As for Hue, this place is defined as an indispensable destination in this tour. Vietravel also keeps on boosting the association and connection with the enterprises in two neighbor countries in order to improve the services’ quality for the tour.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Travel Association informed that the tourism sector has seen a rapid increase in the number of international tourists coming to three countries over the time. Vietnam, especially Hue, is usually the last destination in this itinerary.

This is the premise for localities in the country to cooperate to make more efficient exploitation, lengthening the staying time of tourists, as well as to improve the quality and image of the new products based on tourists’ demand. Over the time, Hue has cooperated with other destinations having strength in domestic heritages to promote this tourist market.

An unforgettable experience with the customs of tying white thread around the wrists for well-being and good luck in Laos. Photo: DT

The tour makers also created some more tours linking 4 to 5 countries by road on the East-West Economic Corridor. In Hue, HGH Travel Company also created the tour “One day cycling – Eating in three countries” with morning in Hue, afternoon in Laos and night in Thailand. This tour has been highly appreciated by many tourists. Hence, the tourism sector of Hue needs to be more proactive to catch this inter-regional linkage, thereby attracting more tourists to Hue.

The Provincial Travel Association shared, in order to reach the efficiency of the transnational tours, the simplification of administrative procedures needs to be done better like issuing a visa which can use for both 3 countries to abolish the geographical barriers.

By Duc Quang