I - The development of tourism in Vietnam countryside

Over the years, many tourism destinations in the countryside in Vietnam have been formed on the basis of exploiting the unique values ​​and imprints of the culture and ecology of the region. Many tourism products with unique and high-quality agro-ecological characteristics have been exploited to meet the needs of visitors to experience. Travel businesses and rural tourism product suppliers have had a close connection, many unique and quality tours have been initially welcomed.

The direct participation of farmers in tourism activities in Vietnam countryside has created the richness and attractiveness of these products. According to statistics from localities across the country, there are more than 1,300 tourist sites and attractions under local management, of which about 70% are attractions in rural areas. In 2017 in 63 provinces and cities, the group of Vietnamese countryside services has 201 products, 413 villages and cultural villages associated with tourism development, and can welcome millions of tourists each year.

Over the years, to meet the growing needs of domestic and foreign tourists, the system of destinations and products for rural tourism in Vietnam countryside has also been constantly upgraded and perfected. Along with the tourism development planning and new rural construction policy, the infrastructure and facilities in rural areas are invested in upgrading and developing in many regions across the country. Many Vietnamese countryside tourist spots have been invested and exploited effectively, contributing to the creation of many attractive new products, bringing in higher revenue.

Many households in villages and hamlets have conditions to develop Vietnam countryside tourism especially in the northern mountainous region - the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta. With a small investment, households have actively participated in business, boldly investing in repairing houses, purchasing vehicles and equipment to serve tourists. Most households mainly participate through providing homestay services for tourists in the form of investment, embellishing their own houses into rooms for tourists to rent.

Households in Vietnam countryside also provide food services, transportation, sightseeing and some outdoor entertainment services such as fishing, participating in traditional agricultural production activities. The northern highland countryside in Vietnam have had a revenue of billions of dong per year, each household in the villages possibly earning 50 - 60 million dong. Rural tourism has created additional sources of livelihood, brought jobs, income and stable livelihoods, improved the lives of farmers, and helped people stick with their homeland more.

The form of community-based tourism with homestay service is the mainstream, which is thriving in many localities, creating attractiveness for tourism in Vietnam countryside. According to incomplete statistics in 2018, the demand for tourists to rural attractions in some localities tends to increase. In Ho Chi Minh City, there were over 500,000 visitors to agricultural sites, or Lai Chau welcomed 289,400 visitors, gaining thousands of billion dong. Many community tourist sites in the northern mountainous region welcome and serve hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

II - How to develop sustainable tourism in Vietnam countryside?

In order to effectively develop rural tourism in the coming period, destinations in Vietnamese countryside must be planned and invested in a synchronous manner, ensuring factors of landscape, environment, road system, and infrastructure, etc. Rural areas must be associated with ecological environment, traditional agricultural production activities, preserving unique historical and cultural values, typical cuisine, and so on. The localities need to review and organize the planning to identify the advantages of the countryside in Vietnam, from which to devise a development strategy suitable to the market.
Tourist destinations must have connections with centers, tourist source markets and other destinations to form diverse products. Tourism destinations in Vietnam countryside must cooperate with tour operators to organize tours, which is the bridge to bring tourists to the destination and orient the product to suit the needs. The connection to form a network of rural attractions also plays an important role in promotion. Priority should be given to investment projects in synchronous transport infrastructure to create favorable conditions for accessing typical rural tourist attractions of each region and between regions in the countryside in Vietnam.
Types of tourism are very diverse, besides community-based tourism in villages, hamlets and hamlets, there are also farms, resorts, and entertainment in Vietnam countryside. This is a system of tourism products with regional characteristics, with particularly interesting and unique experiences, promising to bring interesting memories for you and your family.