Đồng Đò Lake in Kim Anh Commune. Photo courtesy of Đồng Đò Tourism Site

HÀ NỘI — Officials and experts have agreed that Hà Nội’s Kim Anh Commune has great tourism potential due to stunning location and multiple advantages.

But they all agree the locality still needs to make greater efforts to become a favourite destination in the future.

The Hà Nội Department of Tourism and Kim Anh Commune People's Committee jointly held a conference on upgrading local service quality and connecting tourist destinations on December 2.

The commune is located about 40km north of the city centre. Its diverse terrain – a mix of hills, mountains, lakes and forests – creates a rich natural landscape.

Kim Anh offers many tourist attractions, including Đồng Đò Lake, Hàm Lợn Mountain and Thiên Phú Lâm Ecological Park, a golf course, along with more than 130 homestays, villas and resorts.

The commune is also home to a system of 60 historical and cultural relics, more than 30 traditional festivals and many sightseeing locations.

These venues are sure to attract large numbers of visitors seeking green, refreshing spaces and the peaceful atmosphere of the countryside.

Sharing about the tourism development plan towards 2030, Vice Chairman of Kim Anh People's Committee Đoàn Hiệp said the commune would become a key suburban eco-tourism and resort area of ​​Hà Nội.

The focuses would be eco-tourism and resort products; green accommodation facilities and high-class health care services; experiential tourism that includes environmental education through forest exploration activities; and nature picnics.

At the same time Kim Anh would also work on promoting its local specialties, traditional cuisine and handicrafts as well as clean agricultural products to arrange community tours, bringing more tourists.

Trekking Hàm Lợn Mountain is popular activity in Kim Anh Commune. Photo Travel Up

"In the past five years, Kim Anh has become the fastest growing suburban eco-tourism and resort destination in the region," Hiệp said.

"We determine to both preserve the ecosystem and exploit resources suitable for tourism development.

“As a mountainous area, Kim Anh is convenient for developing outdoor sports and entertainment tourism such as mountain biking, trail running, camping and team-building.”

Despite its potential, tourism in Kim Anh has not yet developed commensurate with its strengths. Currently, investment in tourism exploitation is mainly spontaneous, lacking professionalism and there are no hotels of 3-star standards or higher.

Kim Anh Commune also need more entertainment and recreation spots, restaurants that can serve large groups of tourists and tourism service personnel have not been properly trained.

Former Head of the Tourism Department of the Hà Nội University of Culture Dương Văn Sáu suggested a plan to attract visitors.

He said: "Currently, tourists come to Kim Anh mainly for only one day, so to make them extend their stay, Kim Anh should promote cooperation with neighbouring communes such as Trung Giã and Nội Bài, and Phú Thọ Province to build long-term tours."

Chairman of the Việt Nam Green Tourism Association Phùng Quang Thắng said Kim Anh needed to have different products to promote green tourism instead of people coming for just short visits for sightseeing only.

Based on what it has, the commune should cooperate with local tourism businesses to invest in new products and green experiences such as bicycle tours, SUP, kayaking, walking tours, mountain climbing, environmental education, farm tours without kitchen waste, seasonal farming experiences and handicrafts.

Thiên Phú Lâm Ecological Park offers many activities for visitors. Photo Atravel

Kim Anh also needed the active participation of the entire community in developing tourism. When implemented properly, Kim Anh could become an attractive tourist destination, a model green tourism area with forest, lake and rural environment of Hà Nội, he said.

From the perspective of a tourism business, Director of Travelogy Company Vũ ​​Văn Tuyên proposed to build Kim Anh into a key suburban eco-tourism and resort area based on the model: 'Sustainable tourism - Forest conservation - Local economic development'. The managers should identify the tourist markets to build suitable tours.

He also suggested Kim Anh to build a series of standard products for international guests such as Forest & Culture packages, Green Weekend for Expats or one-day heritage tours.

Trần Trung Hiếu, deputy director of Hà Nội Department of Tourism, said Kim Anh possessed advantages that were rare elsewhere. The immediate requirement was to upgrade service quality, build a safe tourism environment and standardise management models to meet the needs of customers.

To support Kim Anh, Hiếu promised that the Hà Nội Department of Tourism would provide training classes for tourism knowledge and skills, support digital transformation and apply information technology in destination management and image promotion. VNS