Harmonizing Craft Village Development with Cultural Tourism

Hanoi's supportive policies for craft villages, through many trade and industrial programs, have enhanced economic restructuring and export growth. Craft villages now represent 8-10% of the city's exports, with nearly 200 generating annual revenues from VND10 billion to VND50 billion, and some reaching up to VND25,000 billion.

Bat Trang Ceramic Museum, also known as the Center of Vietnamese Craft Village Essence, is among the top tourist destinations in Hanoi, highly sought after by visitors

To motivate the sustainable development of craft villages, Hanoi is building the Master Plan for Craft Village Development in 2024-2030, with a vision to 2050.

Popular traditional craft villages in Hanoi include Bat Trang (pottery), Kieu Ky (goldsmith and silversmith), Van Phuc (silk), Quat Dong (embroidery), Phu Vinh (bamboo and rattan products) and Thuy Ung (horns), along with famous flower and ornamental plant villages like Nhat Tan, Quang Ba, Nghi Tam, Tay Tuu and Me Linh. Traditional products and crafts embody the skill of artisans and the cultural heritage passed down through generations.

Bat Trang pottery-making village still retains its inherent traditional features of a profession that beautifies this land. The village has more than 200 companies, more than 1,000 families making and trading pottery and ceramics, including 140 top-notch artisans and thousands of skilled workers. The pottery-making profession creates jobs for tens of thousands of local and external workers. At the Center for the Essence of Vietnamese Craft Villages, there is a space for the Bat Trang pottery-making profession, past and present. This is where the traditional values of Bat Trang over the past 1,000 years are exhibited. Each family, each artisan will choose products and artifacts that have stories, carry meanings and may be very valuable to them to introduce at the center to exchange and make the center a common home. In Van Phuc silk village, open-access production areas have also started to appear for tourists to see how silk is made instead of just making it in each family and bringing it to the market via many intermediaries as before. Tourists can witness firsthand the craftsmanship of traditional silk makers, an experience that many find particularly appealing.

From its achievements, Hanoi will continue to boost its tourism development. Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Dai said that the department is consulting on the Master Plan for Hanoi Craft Village Development with some main objectives. It aims to develop a multi-value economy by advancing craft villages alongside agricultural and rural cultural tourism. It focuses on creating jobs for rural workers and preserving the traditional values of craft villages. Key tasks include addressing issues related to weak input supply areas, connecting material sources to ensure a stable supply for sustainable development, and improving production and tourism infrastructure. It also identifies occupations to be integrated with craft villages and tourism, while outlining strategies for relocating environmentally harmful industries to designated industrial zones.

Hanoi aims to promote agricultural and rural tourism by emphasizing local cultural identity and showcasing unique local products

In addition, the city encourages artisans and skilled workers to train and mentor the next generation, ensuring the preservation and development of craft villages. It also promotes the adoption of scientific and technological advancements to create innovative and distinct products, enhancing the value of handicrafts.

A representative of the Hanoi Tourism Department said that, in April 2024, the department coordinated with District People's Committees to announce the Central Hanoi-Thanh Oai-Ung Hoa-My Duc tourist route with the theme of the "Heritage Road of South Thang Long-Hanoi - A place to return to the roots". In the 2024-2025 period, the department will continue to improve specific products associated with heritage, relic and craft village values along the Central Hanoi-Thanh Tri-Thuong Tin-Phu Xuyen route. To upgrade tourist service skills, it will organize conferences to improve the quality of tourist destinations, popularize the values of heritages, relics and craft villages, connect with travel businesses in Hanoi to organize training courses.

Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan said that establishing One Commune One Product (OCOP) centers for design, innovation, promotion and marketing, alongside integrating craft villages with tourism, will create a supportive environment for rural industrial producers and promote the development of OCOP products and craft villages, fostering experiential tourism and contributing to the local rural economic restructuring.

Moreover, Hanoi will enhance the value of handicraft products, OCOP products and craft villages, build link chains from creative product design, production - processing and consumption on the basis of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values of craft villages together with community tourism, agricultural and rural tourism in the circular economy. This move will contribute to the implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Development for the 2021-2025 period.

Hanoi hopes that each district and town will have the potential to build at least one model of specific agricultural and rural tourism chain, engaged by farmers, cooperatives, business households and enterprises, and support tourism knowledge training for at least 80% of local people and agritourism officials.

By Ngoc Dan, Vietnam Business Forum