The northern province of Ninh Binh will promote homestay service, a form of tourism allowing visitors to stay and live with a local family to better learn the local lifestyle, to attract tourists, the provincial tourism department said.
This form of tourism is expected to appeal more to tourists, especially foreign travelers who want to experience the real life of local people in northern Vietnam.
To meet the demand of tourists, the provincial tourism will open classes to improve tourism knowledge and skills of local inhabitants who will help travelers with the homestay service.
In the first phase, some fifty households will join the tourism project. Local residents in the role of tour guides will provide accommodation facilities, instruct tourists how to participate in workaday activities, and take them to traditional festivals and tourist attractions.
In fact, several companies in the province are already offering this service.
The private company Ngoi Sao, for instance, is cooperating with other domestic tourist agencies to choose Van Long Eco-tourism Complex as a destination to apply the homestay service for tourists. Visitors will discover daily life of locals such as working in the fields, fishing, and cooking traditional foods.
Van Long Eco-tourism Complex is a water-clogged nature preserve in the Northern Delta. Covering an area of 2,730ha, the site boasts both natural scenic spots like limestone mountains, caves, and biodiversity, and cultural and historical values like traditional festivals of northern people.
Many regions in Vietnam and travel firms are also focusing on homestay packages to attract foreign and domestic tourists. The homestay service is now widely promoted in Lao Cai Province’s Sapa Town, Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, the Mekong Delta and other places across the country.