Tourists visit lotus ponds in Mường Cốc Village, Mỹ Đức Commune. Photos courtesy of organisers

Thanh Hà

HÀ NỘI — The Mường Cốc community tourism area has been officially announced as a promising new destination for green tourism in Hà Nội.

The Hà Nội Department of Tourism and the Mỹ Đức Commune People's Committee held a conference on July 1 aiming to promote strong and sustainable tourism development while boosting regional links and creating livelihoods for local residents.

Located approximately 60km from the city centre, Mường Cốc is a Mường ethnic village situated in a semi-mountainous area that includes Bai Bó Lake, lotus ponds, rice fields, rivers and limestone mountains.

In addition to the stunning natural landscapes, the village also preserves the rich cultural traditions of the Mường people. These include intangible heritage ​​such as gong music, folk songs, Mo Mường (a unique blend of religious ritual and folk culture), traditional medicine, folk knowledge, culinary arts, handicrafts and textile weaving techniques, all of which have been preserved through generations.

Visitors will have a wide range of tour routes to choose from in Mường Cốc.

These features have ​​become a foundation for building Mường Cốc into a community-based sustainable tourism destination, focused on using cultural preservation as a driving force for development, veteran tourism expert and Travelogy travel agency director Vũ Văn Tuyên said.

Meanwhile, chairman of the People's Committee of Mỹ Đức Commune Nguyễn Quang Đường said that given the unique natural conditions and cultural identity of the Mường people, tourism development has been listed as one of the key priorities for the local economy.

The commune established a Community Tourism Coordination Board, developed a plan and organised around eight training courses on tourism skills for local residents. The residents also worked to improve the landscape, planting flowers, completing infrastructure and developing local tourism products.

After nearly one year of research, the local authority worked out 18 tour routes for both domestic and international tourists.

The village’s accommodation network has steadily developed, now featuring seven homestays and four farmstays. Visitors can choose from eight cycling routes through Mường villages, two trekking trails showcasing the area's natural landscapes and medicinal plants and eight experiential tour programmes, including four that connect Mường Cốc with neighbouring destinations. 

In addition, nearly 60 attractions across Mường Cốc have been digitised, enabling visitors to easily access information and plan itineraries that match their interests.

Tuyên recommended the One Day as a Mường Person programme as a top experience. Centred around the theme 'Touching Peace – Living Like a True Mường', this 24-hour journey invites visitors to step into the daily life of the Mường community. 

Guests spend a full day and night living alongside a local family, working, sharing meals, conversing and taking part in everyday activities, which provides them with an authentic and immersive cultural experience.

"Visitors can immerse themselves in local life by wearing traditional Mường attire, working at a farmstay using the VAC farming model – a traditional integrated system of gardening, fish farming and raising livestock – and cycling through the villages to experience the area's scenic natural landscapes. 

"Guests can also savour authentic local cuisine, participate in traditional folk games and unwind with a soothing herbal foot bath," said Tuyên, who has been actively involved in developing tourism products in Mường Cốc.

Tourists can experience Mường culture, which has remained in the area for generations.

He also revealed that the Mường Cốc Refill Station will allow residents and visitors free drinking water refills as part of the nationwide effort to achieve net zero emissions.

Mỹ Đức and Mường Cốc have also developed a set of 'Five Nos' for community tourism development: no unsafe food; no harmful chemicals; no single-use plastic waste; no erosion of Mường cultural identity; and no creation of tourism products detached from community life.

Mường Cốc's advantages

Along with its outstanding scenery, Mường Cốc also has a location advantage, as itis easy to access from tourist areas in Hà Nội and neighbouring provinces and cities.

From Mường Cốc, travel to other renowned tourism hotspots nearby is very convenient.

Hà Nội's much-loved Hương (Perfume) Pagoda and the Quảng Phú Cầu incense village, Ninh Bình Province's Cúc Phương National Park, Mai Châu in Hòa Bình and Pù Luông in Thanh Hóa are all popular for tourists year-round.

According to experts, Mường Cốc is a highly interconnected destination with great potential to develop into a prominent community tourism destination for the capital city.

Several activities, including biking around the area, are designed to entertain visitors.

Also at the conference, officials from the city's tourism department and Mỹ Đức Commune witnessed a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in tourism product development between the Mường Cốc Community Tourism Steering Committee and various travel agencies, businesses and partners.

Travel agencies also connected with Thai partners and anticipate welcoming the first groups of tourists from Thailand in the next few weeks.

Marlin Tiyabhorn, Senior Regional Manager for Southeast Asia at GetYourGuide in Thailand, said that global tourism trends are shifting rapidly from sightseeing to authentic local experiences.

Việt Nam is currently one of the fastest-growing markets for businesses in Southeast Asia, and Mường Cốc is a destination with great potential thanks to the local community, which is playing a central role in tourism development, she said.

Tiyabhorn added that this type of product is perfectly suited to the current needs of many international tourist markets, and expressed her desire to collaborate in promoting Mường Cốc around the world. — VNS