10:12, 29/12/2019

Making cuisine become tourist product

With each destination, visitors not only visit, relax, entertain but also want to experience culture and cuisine. For a long time, Khanh Hoa Tourism still has few food tourism products.

With each destination, visitors not only visit, relax, entertain but also want to experience culture and cuisine. For a long time, Khanh Hoa Tourism still has few food tourism products.
 
Necessary to build up culinary tours
 
Saigontourist - Nha Trang Branch recently took some cruise tourists to visit Memento tourist site in Dien Khanh District, Khanh Hoa Province, for visitors to feel the life of the rural people. They also enjoyed banh xeo, a Vietnamese rural dish. Tourists from Europe are very interested in this tourist product. However, so far, there have been few tours bearing the local cuisine.
 
According to Phan Dinh Thao - Director of Saigontourist Nha Trang, tourists often want to enjoy typical local and regional dishes. Many hotels and resorts have raised the quality of local dishes like banh xeo (pancakes), bun ca (fish noodles), etc. to serve tourists. However, these activities have not become specialized tours yet. 
 
Many experts think that Khanh Hoa needs to build more culinary tours. “Previously, Ana Mandara Resort had built a culinary tour, attracting a lot of customers. With this tour, visitors went to the market to buy materials and then, chefs guided them to make some traditional dishes like spring rolls, pho, etc. We should promote this ", said Mr. Vo Dinh Thu - Former General Secretary of Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa Tourism Association. However, in order for cuisine to become a separate tourism product, it’s necessary to choose typical dishes to build up tours and have the cultural space associated with that dishes. Visitors can just enjoy food and know the culture and history of the dishes.
 

 

Banh xeo (Vietnamese pancakes) of Khanh Hoa Province is a favorite dish of many tourists.
Banh xeo (Vietnamese pancakes) of Khanh Hoa Province is a favorite dish of many tourists.
 
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More culinary events needed
 
Recently, Vietnam got the award Top Asian Food Destination 2019. Khanh Hoa is a major tourist center of Vietnam, a gateway to welcome international visitors. Therefore, Khanh Hoa tourism needs to do marketing for Vietnamese culinary culture in general and the local cuisine in particular. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - Vice Chairman of Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa Tourism Association, several years ago when the qualifying round of the Golden Spoon cooking contest was held in Nha Trang, chefs of hotels and resorts in Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa introduced many very attractive typical dishes. At that time, culinary experts encouraged Khanh Hoa tourism. 
 
In the operation plan of the Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Tourism Association for 2019 - 2024, there is an orientation to hold food festival annually. In 2015, the association organized a food festival in the seaside park very successfully. Therefore, the association is expected to organize food festival as an annual activity to introduce typical dishes to domestic and international visitors, gradually making cuisine to become a kind of tourist products.
 
Nguyen Thi Le Thanh - Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism said that Khanh Hoa tourism is targeting high-class guests with high spending. In order to do that, cuisine must be paid importance. 
 
Xuan Thanh
 
Translated by T.T