Edu-tourism can be understood as a form of tourism that mainly targets students. Edu-tourism encompasses a combination of sightseeing and learning experiences. With a rich culture and history, and a diverse system of natural resources and heritages, Vietnam possesses abundant potential for the development of edu-tourism.
In recent years, many schools have coordinated with tour operators to organise tours for students. Some schools have engaged in edu-tourism as regular an extracurricular activity for students.
The selected places to visit are usually historical sites, parks, museums, educational farms, and traditional craft villages, aiming to help students aquire a better knowledge of history and culture.
However, many experts have pointed out that edu-tourism has not yet fully tapped into its potential as product quality has not met expectations.
According to Le Cong Nang, General Director of Wondertour Company Ltd., tourist activities at schools have just met the needs of sightseeing for students rather than helping them to learn new things.
He said that the online learning period and lack of direct communication during the COVID-19 pandemic posed greatly psychological impacts on students. Thus, he stressed the importance of organising edu-tours to help students balance their mental health and provide relief from psychological stress.
Therefore, in addition to launch outdoor tours, Wondertour has also provided tours on skill building education and career-oriented tours for students, such as tours entitled ‘A day as a farmer’, ‘A day as a doctor, ‘Aspiration’, and ‘Gratitude’.
Many other travel businesses, localities, and management boards of tourist attractions have also changed their approach to developing edu-tourism.
For example, in October, the Management Board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter introduce an educational tour named ‘Thang Long-Hanoi: Past and Present’, which allows students to acquire knowledge on Hanoi’s culture and history by visiting the Hanoi Old Quarter Culture Exchange Centre, the Heritage House, and Kim Ngan Communal House.
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Hoa Lo Prison have been actively designing new tourist products, which have received much interest and attraction from students. (Photo: NDo/Thanh Dat) |
Meanwhile, the management boards of Thang Long Imperial Citadel and Hoa Lo Prison have been actively designing new tourist products, which have received much interest and attraction from students.
In late September, the Phu Tho provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the management board of the Hung Kings Temple Historical Site announced a school tour programme entitled ‘Looking forward to the root’.
Major activities in the tour include visiting Hung Vuong Museum, offering incense to Hung Kings and enjoying the show ‘Tales about Hung Kings’, along with water puppetry performances and playing folk games.
The tour’s itinerary has been arranged under the advice of experts and is individualised for each grade level. Through talks and contest on history as well as activities to explore traditional culture in Phu Tho, students can learn history lessons on Hung Kings era.
The abovementioned positive signals promise a positive potential for the professionalisation of edu-tourism. The effective development of edu-tourism requires strong coordination between the tourism and education sectors as well as enthusiast participation of localities and experts working in the fields of culture, history, heritage, and life skills, and especially the support from parents.
