On the afternoon of October 18, at the Government Guest House, the International Economic and Cultural Exchange Club under the Center for WTO Studies and International Affairs, University of Social Sciences and Humanities and VIPTOUR Company under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with the Office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative in Hanoi to organize an international scientific seminar on "Culture - Resource for Tourism Development".Attending the seminar were Ms. Katherine Muller-Marin, Head of UNESCO Representative Office in Hanoi, Ambassadors of Venezuela, Romania, Palestine, representatives of the Embassies of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Russian Federation, Korea, Australia..., representatives of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hanoi, Ha Giang, Ninh Binh and many members of the Club, teachers and students of the School. The Organizing Committee received a total of 15 reports, of which 10 were presented at the seminar. In the opening report "
Culture, Development and Tourism”, said Ms. Katherine Muller-Marin: Development can only be sustainable if countries ensure that cultural values are respected and know how to take advantage of the dynamic interactions between cultures. Development programs should properly exploit cultural values, paying attention to enhancing the role of communities and individuals, in addition to state management. Not only that, these programs also contribute to protecting the cultural diversity of the world community: the main attraction for tourism development. Integrating cultural aspects into all development policies, such as education, gender, health, and poverty reduction, is an important foundation for sustainable development. Mr. Jorge Rondon Uzcategui, Ambassador of Venezuela, introduced the appeal of Venezuela's traditional culture, the appeal of its amazing landscapes, unique cuisine, friendly people, the mystery of the Maica and Aztec cultures and the beautiful landscapes of this country through a vivid clip. In addition, the Venezuelan Ambassador also brought to the discussion many unique traditional products and typical Venezuelan cakes.
Mr. Saadi Salama, Ambassador of Palestine introduced Cultural Tourism in the Palestinian territories, information that is not widely known in the world as well as in Vietnam due to the current geopolitical conditions. The Ambassador also spoke about the tourism potential and difficulties in organizing the development of cultural tourism in the tourism space in Palestine. The money for tourism development in Palestine is a sustainable peace along with the birth of an independent, sovereign and territorial Palestinian state. Mr. Keum Gi Hyong, Director of the Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam, brought to the Seminar a report on "Temple Stay in Korea". The report stated: Temple Stay in Korea is a unique cultural program that aims to bring visitors to experience the lives of Buddhists at many traditional temples, preserving 1,700 years of history of Korean Buddhist Temple tourism, providing a variety of diverse forms of tourism. The Temple Tour Program contributes to enriching the attractiveness of localities and makes a significant cultural contribution to the tourism sector. In 2010, it was estimated that 20,000 foreign visitors and 153,000 Koreans participated in the Temple Tour Program at 109 temples in Korea. Mr. Dumitru Olaru, Ambassador of Romania, gave his opinion on two areas that Vietnam needs to pay attention to developing in the field of cultural tourism, namely Sea Tourism and Craft Village Tourism. The Ambassador also highly appreciated Vietnam's recent initiative to organize the Cultural Tourism Festival named "Indochina Passion" at the Paris Flower Park with the aim of introducing opportunities to explore the culture and tourism of three countries in the Indochina region: Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Ambassador also introduced Romania and its tourism strengths. Romania is currently Vice President of the Executive Board of the World Tourism Organization and will actively support Vietnam in joining this organization. The report from the Australian Embassy mentioned the issue.
Tourism and environmental protection. The report said that the strengths of the Australian tourism industry are beautiful beaches, diverse natural environments and unique flora and fauna. 17 natural landscapes of Australia are listed as World Heritage Sites, 34 sites are listed as National Heritage Sites, which are attractive destinations in the land of Kangaroos. An impressive figure is that in 2008, there were 5.6 million international visitors from more than 170 countries visiting Australia. One of the most important lessons that can be drawn about environmental protection and tourism promotion is to have a strict legal system in this field. The report also mentioned that Australia is coordinating with the German government through the GIZ program to promote ideas about sustainable environmental protection in Kien Giang province, including Phu Quoc National Park and U Minh Thuong National Forest. Mr. Nguyen Trung Duong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Giang province, reported on the work of preserving and exploiting the value of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a Global Geopark for tourism development. Stretching across 4 northern mountainous districts of the province, Dong Van Karst Plateau has nearly 140 heritage sites, divided into many groups of geomorphological landscapes, fossils, paleontology-stratigraphy, limestone caves, which are considered suitable for adventure tourism, tourism to explore the mysteries of nature. At the same time, having people from 17 ethnic minorities living in this area has contributed to the diversity of Ha Giang's cultural tourism. In 2010, Ha Giang welcomed more than 301,000 visitors, of which more than 48,000 were international visitors and more than 253,300 were domestic visitors. The report also introduces comprehensive solutions that Ha Giang has implemented to preserve heritage and promote tangible and intangible cultural values of the province. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luyen, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ninh Binh province, reported on
Trang An scenic complex, a unique Vietnamese cultural heritage.According to the report, Trang Anh Scenic Landscape Complex is a complex of relics including: Tam Coc-Bich Dong tourist area, a complex of beautiful scenic relics; Hoa Lu ancient capital historical relic area, the first ancient capital of Vietnam, existing for 42 years with 6 kings of 3 dynasties: Dinh - Tien Le - Ly; Trang An eco-tourism area is a complex of limestone mountains with caves, valleys, rivers, blending in a magical, mysterious space, likened to "Ha Long on land"; Bai Dinh Pagoda mountain area is 700 hectares wide, including 21 items with two ancient Bai Dinh pagodas and Bai Dinh new pagoda. The new Bai Dinh pagoda is one of the largest Buddhist works in Vietnam. The report shows the great tourism potential of Trang An scenic landscape and hopes that Trang An will soon be recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage. Dr. Nguyen Van Son, Director of the Co Loa Relic Conservation Center, Hanoi Citadel, presented some features of the current situation of the Central Heritage Area of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi. The report stated that the three characteristics that make up the outstanding global value of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long are: the length of history, the role of the center of power and the existence of diverse and rich relic layers. The report also mentioned the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee on what Vietnam needs to do well for the Central Heritage Area of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi and the fact that Vietnam has been actively implementing those recommendations. However, there are also some issues that need to be implemented urgently, for example, the issue of unifying the management of the relic site as Vietnam has committed. He warned that if this is not implemented in practice, the risk that the Heritage Area may be considered for removal from the list of World Heritage Sites is a visible risk.
The report of Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa, Head of the Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, mentioned the content of Exploiting Cultural Heritage to serve tourism development. With specific statistics, the report showed the potential for tourism development in Vietnam. The report also mentioned the achievements in tourism development strategy, legal documents, responsibilities of management levels and the exploitation of cultural heritage in tourism development. Cultural tourism destinations are increasingly expanded, tours with many forms such as thematic or comprehensive, tourism - cultural events are organized more and more systematically by the Department of Culture and Tourism. The report also raises challenges and solutions to the commercialization of heritage, the destruction of the originality of heritage, the protection and restoration of heritage, the exploitation of heritage, the conservation and development, the policy and sanctions for the socialization of exploitation and conservation activities. Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Quang Minh, Head of the Faculty of International Studies, Director of the Center for WTO and International Studies, presented the report "Culture, cultural standards and German cultural standards in the context of globalization". The author emphasized: The nature of culture is communication, contact, and exchange, so intercultural communication plays an increasingly important role in the context of globalization. To preserve cultural identity and limit "clash between cultures", the best way is to learn about the standards of other cultures and increase exchanges, communication, and introductions about cultures. To illustrate this point, the author introduced 7 standards of German culture: emphasizing the importance of work, time, rules, separating public and private matters, being straightforward, self-control and keeping distance between individuals. If you do not understand cultural standards, it is easy to cause misunderstandings, prejudices, and affect relationships. The report on Japanese - Vietnamese Culture through the story of chopsticks by Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thien Nam, Deputy Director of the Center for NCWTO and International Affairs, lecturer of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language is a case study on the cultural correlation between Japan and Vietnam. The report introduces chopsticks with interesting similarities and differences in history, form, type, ritual and philosophy. The report said that travel guides all have special attention for tourists when visiting countries with chopsticks: "practice eating with chopsticks". The report also reaffirmed that chopsticks are a product of the rice civilization and an indispensable part of the lives of Vietnamese, Japanese and other “Chopstick Countries”. Summarizing the discussion, Ms. Katherin Muller-Marin said:
Let me conclude today's discussion with a quote from Nigerian Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka, who highlights the significance, potential, and challenges that culture presents:
"Culture is a matrix of infinite possibilities and choices. Within the same cultural matrix we can extract arguments and strategies about the degradation and nobility of our species, about slavery or liberation..."
I can easily say that I have one desire and commitment: I want to see Vietnam become a model for the world, fully demonstrating the country's potential in balancing between protecting and using culture to develop and promote high-quality tourism to benefit local communities.With such rich content, the seminar brought a multi-dimensional perspective on culture and tourism development, creating a basis for new cooperation and discoveries in this field.
