In addition to the scenic spots and unique cultural features bearing the mark of the Chau River and Doi Mountain countryside, the smiles and friendliness of tourism workers and locals are important highlights to attract and retain tourists to Ha Nam. In particular, in 2023, for the first time, Ha Nam was honored by the World Travel Awards as the "World's Leading Local Cultural Destination".

Ha Nam currently has 12 recognized tourist destinations, of which 5 tourist areas and destinations have been planned; nearly 200 tourist accommodation establishments (2 5-star hotels, 9 3-star hotels, 18 1-2 star hotels) with a total of nearly 4,000 standard rooms and nearly 30 travel agencies and tourist transport businesses operating stably. The number of tourists coming to Ha Nam in recent years has been constantly increasing. On average, Ha Nam tourism grows from 20 to 25% each year. The total number of tourists in the first 6 months of 2024 is estimated at 3,850,000 (89.5% of the annual plan, 112.6% compared to 2023), of which: international visitors are estimated at 80,000, domestic visitors are estimated at 3,770,000; Total revenue from tourism is estimated at 2,947.5 billion VND (89.3% of the annual plan and 110.3% over the same period last year).

Reception at Muong Thanh Hotel.  Photo: PV

In recent times, Ha Nam has strengthened the organization of many activities to strongly promote the province's potential and strengths, investment attraction policies in the field of tourism service development, attractive features, outstanding values ​​of tourism resources, unique and characteristic destinations and tourism products to domestic and foreign investors.

In order to improve the quality of tourism human resources according to the "Project on developing tourism human resources in Ha Nam province for the period of 2019 - 2025" approved by the Provincial People's Committee, every year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (VH,TT&DL), the Provincial Tourism Association coordinates with training institutions, units and related enterprises to organize training and foster professional skills for the tourism workforce, focusing on improving service quality, building a culture of behavior, friendly communication, and hospitality for a number of groups of people who regularly come into contact with tourists (waiters, bar staff, receptionists, cashiers, sales staff, security guards... hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions). Lecturers of the training courses have instructed and presented content related to the art of communication in service work, the importance of a friendly smile for the tourism industry, and behavioral styles to always keep a friendly smile for guests. Students are also guided to practice creating friendly smiles through smiling, body language, manners, speech, etc. to create closeness and hospitality.

To develop sustainable tourism, Ha Nam has strengthened its direction and control of the tourism market, especially in key areas. The functional sectors and localities in the province have established working groups, organized many inspections, and conducted surprise inspections of business activities and service provision for tourists; paid attention to recording visitors' feedback to promptly and strictly handle violations, overcome shortcomings, and improve the quality of tourism services. The mass media in the province actively promoted the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Civilized Tourism to the masses, especially those working at tourist destinations, focusing on the following contents: Upholding the professional ethics of tour guides towards tourists and destinations; being friendly, responsible, and enthusiastic while guiding tourists; Always smile, show respectful attitude and behavior towards tourists... thereby bringing complete experiences to people and tourists, maintaining the brand and image of Ha Nam tourism as safe, friendly and attractive.

The girls in the Doi Tam drum troupe create a beautiful image for the Tich Dien festival.
Photo: Chu Uyen

According to Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Mai Thanh Chung, promoting tourism development means promoting civilized and friendly behavior. In order for tourists to have a good impression and be willing to return, the warm smiles and enthusiastic welcome of tourism workers and people at the destination are always the top priority. With different customers, the service attitude is also different, but the most basic and comprehensive is still the friendly and enthusiastic style. In addition to participating in training and development courses, the most important thing for each tourism employee is to self-study, improve skills, and handle situations. In tourism activities, there are hundreds, thousands of different situations, no situation is the same. Therefore, what is needed from people working in the tourism industry is the subtlety and tactfulness to behave intelligently, culturally, and create a beautiful image of the land and people at the destination.

Thanks to good propaganda work, in most tourist areas and spots in the province, typically Tam Chuc Tourist Area, along with a unique tourism product system, heartfelt services have been established with friendly bows, bright smiles and above all, attentive and thoughtful care for tourists. Determining that tourist satisfaction is the joy of service providers, in addition to a warm, enthusiastic and cheerful attitude, tourist spots also encourage the implementation of the "4 xin" movement (hello, thank you, ask permission, apologize) and "4 always" (always smile, always be gentle, always understand, always help) to bring satisfaction to tourists when coming to Ha Nam.

With the goal of building an image of an increasingly civilized, friendly and hospitable Ha Nam, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has determined that in the coming time, it will continue to promote propaganda and mobilize everyone, not only officials, civil servants, sales staff, receptionists, tour guides, taxi drivers... but also all Ha Nam people to always greet, smile and enthusiastically support necessary information for tourists. Those seemingly small and simple actions will bring practical and long-term value, creating more "catalysts" to connect domestic and foreign tourists, contributing to promoting and affirming the Ha Nam tourism brand.

Source: baohanam.com.vn