A few weeks back, Nguyen Binh An took his family from Da Nang to his hometown – Dai Binh Village, Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam – to participate in a local marathon.

The family spent two days exploring local attractions, playing folk games, taking boat trips, and falling in love with the village’s natural landscapes and orchards. 

Many believe that these features give Dai Binh Village, located in Nong Son District, the potential to transform into a regional ecotourism destination.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, vice-chairman of Nong Son People’s Committee, the district has mobilized resources and invested in building infrastructure and projects to develop community-based ecotourism in the village.

The district also organized festivals and invited visitors from all over Vietnam to visit the village.

"Community-based tourism must come from the community,” Thuy said, adding that the district is directing its investment toward local people and encouraging them to develop their own tourism models in order to pull tourists into the village.

Thuy said that the district is on the lookout for new investment streams that can turn the village into an attractive tourism destination.

Recently, several households in Dai Binh Village took a trip to study a successful community-based tourism model in Moc Chau District, Son La Province, northern Vietnam thanks to support from the Biodiversity Conservation Component of the Project on Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Vietnam (VFBC).

The USAID-funded project also provides technical support for five households in Dai Binh to run homestay services.

In the future, the Nong Son District authorities and the VFBC project hope that Dai Binh Village will use its new tourism model as a way to welcome tourists year-round, rather than just during festival seasons.  

The VFBC also shared its expectations that tourists will eventually be able to book their stays in the village through well-known sites such as Booking.com and Agoda.

In addition, the project will also support Dai Binh to build tours which connect local attractions with provincial landmarks, such as Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Sanctuary, and Nong Son Elephant Species and Habitat Reserve.

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