Preserving cultural heritage, generating sustainable development

An art performance at the opening ceremony for the Ninh Bình-Tràng An 2023 Festival. — VNA/VNS Photo Đức Phương

HÀ NỘI — Engaging the community in the preservation of natural resources and cultural heritage values has an important role to play in boosting sustainable development since it will bring substantial benefits to the national economy.

Preservation of cultural heritage

According to Dr. Nguyễn Thị Thu Trang from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Cultural Heritage, cultural heritage could help meet the development requirements of the cultural industry, especially cultural or heritage tourism.

However, cultural heritage is only preserved when it is fully tapped for the comprehensive development of the Vietnamese people, she said, adding the heritage must be safeguarded, and be able to create sustainable livelihoods for the community.

Ninh Bình province is the first and the only locality in Việt Nam to hold “double” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) titles with its Tràng An Scenic Landscape Complex – a mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage of the World.

The management board of the Tràng An complex said that since the complex received the UNESCO’s recognition on June 25, 2014, its standout values have been honoured and preserved. There is an increasing awareness in the community of the significance of the heritage site, while the popularisation of the heritage’s values has been enhanced.

The province has organised the Ninh Bình-Tràng An Festival, a national cultural tourism event to promote cultural exchange and honour cultural heritage in tandem with tourism development.

Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Mạnh Cường said that the story of Hoa Lư ancient capital’s history and culture was highlighted at the second Ninh Bình-Tràng An Festival taking place on December 26-31, with a real scene show meticulously arranged on the backdrop of the Tràng An complex’s spiritual space.

Thanks to the province’s initiatives to promote its heritage, Ninh Bình has enjoyed robust tourism growth. The number of visitors to the locality has risen 39 per cent, while tourism revenue has also surged 39 per cent since 2015.

During January – September, the province hosted more than 5.5 million visitors, up 99.1 per cent year-on-year, and gained an estimated VNĐ5 trillion (US$205.6 million) from tourism services. Tourism revenue has made significant contributions to preserving and renovating cultural heritage items within the Tràng An complex.

Over the past time, Ninh Bình has made a transition from agriculture-based economy to service-based economy with green and sustainable growth. The move has helped promote the vitality, potential and values of local heritage items, making them an asset of the community.

More than 7,000 local women have contributed to the local preservation efforts by engaging in boat riding and cleanup activities at the complex.

A boost to poverty alleviation

Director General of the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Trùng Khánh said tourism has bolstered the development of other sectors and restored traditional festivals and crafts, while promoting economic restructuring.

The clean industry has generated numerous jobs, contributing to alleviating poverty, giving a facelift to rural areas, and improving local livelihoods, he said. Developing tourism in tandem with preserving the environment and the value of cultural heritage is important to boost local socioeconomic and sustainable tourism development, he explained.

Khánh highlighted that Việt Nam, boasting more than 40,000 relic sites and 15 UNESCO intangible cultural heritages, has huge potential to build cultural tourism offerings.

Many localities have capitalised on their cultural heritage values to form diverse tourism products, including a tour connecting ASEAN countries’ heritage, Huế Festival, Nha Trang Sea Festival, Hạ Long Carnival, culinary festivals, and stellar art shows such as Hội An Memories and the Quintessence of Tonkin.

Việt Nam has been honoured as a leading destination in Asia for many years. Most recently, the country won the World’s Leading Heritage Destination at the World Travel Awards in 2023, for the fourth time so far.

Together with the title obtained in 2019, 2020, and 2022, this year’s award shows the globally outstanding values and attractiveness of the country’s cultural heritage to the international community.

Several destinations of Việt Nam were also granted different awards this year. Among them, Hà Nội won the World’s Leading City Break Destination title, while Phú Quốc of the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang was named the World’s Leading Nature Island Destination. Mộc Châu in the northwestern province of Sơn La was listed as the World’s Leading Regional Nature Destination, Hà Nam Province the World’s Leading Regional Cultural Destination, and Tam Đảo in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc the World’s Leading Town Destination.

The awards and titles are a vivid illustration of the country’s efforts to promote heritage values in tourism and socioeconomic development. — VNS