Enhance traditional festivities' appeal for visitors

The Hanoi Times — So far, the back-to-back opening of a series of major spring festivals in the capital, such as Huong Pagoda Festival, Giong Temple Festival, Dong Da Mound Festival and others, have brought hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with many positive changes in management, the festivals have preserved unique traditional cultural features, contributing to the enhancement of destinations and attracting tourists.

However, rituals such as buffalo fighting, buffalo stabbing, and pig slaughtering are still practiced in some places. At present, public opinion and management agencies are still wondering how to preserve heritage festivals and ensure their cultural and joyful features without offending tourists.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research, said that traditional festivals carry the unique cultural identity of each locality. However, the influence of festivals has gone beyond a locality to regional, national, and international levels amid global integration. Therefore, many practices are no longer suitable for an increasingly large community of festival goers.

Furthermore, only a small percentage of tourism-related products are infused with Hanoi's unique identity, and the quality is inconsistent, uncreative, and undiversified. There is also an absence of large-scale, high quality and classy entertainment and resorts that are attractive enough to prolong the stay and increase visitor spending.

In addition to factors like failing to keep up with market trends, advertising and promotion efforts, the capital has yet to build annual, large-scale cultural and tourism events that bear its mark. The aforementioned shortcomings have made Hanoi tourism less competitive when compared to domestic and foreign rivals.

Therefore,  Nguyen Anh Tuan called for specific orientations and solutions that are appropriate to the actual situation and current trends of tourism development, to both preserve cultural heritage and innovate organizational methods, so that the capital's festival tourism can truly develop according to its potential position.

Bui Hoai Son, a standing member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, said combining traditional and new elements in the festival is necessary, but it must also be done with great care. The traditional element is the soul and origin of the festival, while the new elements, if properly applied, can make the festival more familiar and attractive to the younger generation and tourists.

However, if not strictly controlled, the new element can deviate from the original goal of the festival and turn it into a mere entertainment event that retains nothing of its inherent cultural identity.

"The balance between preservation and development is extremely important. To achieve this, we need to preserve the core elements of the festival, from the traditional rituals to the venue, while allowing for innovation that is appropriate to the cultural context and spirit of the festival. It needs the participation of the community, cultural experts, and management agencies to oversee this development process," said Son.

The ultimate goal of celebrating the festival is to preserve and promote cultural values, not only to attract tourists but also to maintain the connection with the origin and the invaluable values passed down from generation to generation.

Earlier this month, Vu Thu Ha, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People's Committee, instructed the Department of Culture and Sports to urgently advise the Hanoi People's Committee on the management of festivals in the city, including updating the "Criteria for Cultural Environment of Traditional Festivals" and seeking feedback from departments, sectors and authorities of districts and towns. The department shall submit the update to the municipal People's Committee for promulgation by March 15.

Regarding the management of cultural relics, the Department of Culture and Sports is asked to review all regulations on the management, protection, and promotion of the value of historical-cultural relics and scenic spots in Hanoi.

For 21 clusters of special national relics, Vice Chairwoman Vu Thu Ha instructed the Department of Culture and Sports to unify the general principles of state management of special national relics, ensuring the autonomy of districts, cities and towns in their running; at the same time, it is necessary to specify the role of the city, especially the Department of Culture and Sports, in the management, conservation and promotion of the value of relics.

Ha also urged the Thang Long-Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center and the Department of Culture and Sports, Dong Anh District People's Committee to implement the project to preserve, restore and promote the value of Co Loa Temple Festival and Co Loa Relic Site.