Travel as a cultural healing journey

Trinh Thi Ly, coordinator of the community-based tourism project, spoke with Nhan Dan Newspaper.

Q: How has the cooperative adapted its approach to international visitors in recent years?

A: Over the past two years, we’ve expanded our offerings with more immersive, hands-on experiences for international tourists. Visitors can now make their own herbal soap using natural ingredients grown right here at Sinh Duoc. We’ve also introduced tours featuring Vietnamese traditional costumes, where guests can try on and pose for photos in wooden houses built in the local architectural style. These new activities cater to the growing demand for meaningful, in-depth travel experiences, while also aligning with rising values such as green tourism, healing and wellness, and sustainability.

Each year, we welcome thousands of international visitors to explore our space and cultural offerings. While the figure may not be large, the level of engagement is remarkable. Over 70% of our guests say they would recommend the experience to friends and family. Many stay in touch, sending messages of thanks, and some even return, sometimes within the same week, others years later when they revisit Viet Nam.

Q: What do you think makes Sinh Duoc particularly appealing to visitors?

A: We believe it’s the harmonious blend of culture, tradition, nature, and personal connection that creates the attraction. Visitors are truly listened to and immersed in a heritage story: from the millennia-old tradition of herbal medicine in the former imperial capital, the famous herbal bath remedies of Zen master Nguyen Minh Khong, to the inspiring start-up journey of local youth. Guests often tell us that when they handpick herbs, feel their textures, and craft their own bar of soap, it feels like they’re truly living in the world of medicinal plants, just as our name, Sinh Duoc (Living Medicinals), suggests.

Moreover, the space of old wooden houses and traditional crafts leaves a deep impression. Guests can engage in activities such as embroidering motifs on bodhi leaves to create hairpins, lanterns, and traditional clothing. Each detail carries a cultural story, a trace of Vietnamese heritage, carefully distilled and authentically expressed by our cooperative members.

Q: How are young people, especially those from local communities, contributing to the preservation and development of cultural tourism?

A: It’s truly encouraging to see more and more young people in the area, both around our cooperative and across Ninh Binh province, actively involved in preserving and developing cultural tourism products. Right in our community, some young locals have taken the initiative to create their own experiences.

Across the province, I’m especially impressed by Dao Xuan Ngoc, who has created an activity where guests make printed patterns inspired by Dinh and Le dynasty motifs using do (poonah) paper. Similarly, the Bo Bat Ceramics Cooperative has built an experience in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, where visitors can try their hand at pottery making and learn about a craft village that has existed for thousands of years. Or Hoang Thanh Phuong, founder of the Bo De Tay Phuong gallery, who organises calligraphy writing on bodhi leaves. What I deeply appreciate is that these young people have created spaces for encounter and storytelling, offering fresh perspectives while still honouring cultural heritage.

Q: What is your view on cultural identity, and what needs to be done to preserve that essence in tourism development, especially when catering to international visitors with diverse expectations?

A: For me, cultural identity refers to the distinctive, positive, and unique values that are intrinsically tied to each community and ethnic group. It is shaped by the land’s natural features, geography, and history, passed down across generations. These values help us recognise and remember a community or people through what makes them unique and different.

To preserve that “core spirit”, in my view, is a journey that requires balance, between tradition and modernity, between maintaining core cultural values and adapting to the evolving expectations of today’s travellers. We need to build tourism upon authentic local values. At the same time, there must be creative approaches, “staging” or curating these cultural values in a way that forms a cohesive picture: one that retains the soul of tradition but is also aesthetically engaging and entertaining to visitors.

Another essential factor is education and communication within the local community. The people themselves are the key custodians of culture. They need to be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to tell the story of their heritage with pride and inspiration. It’s important for them to understand that preserving culture is not merely a duty, it’s a way of safeguarding their own spiritual and communal life.

Thank you!

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