Bình Dương Province promotes its strengths with industrial tourism
The southern province of Bình Dương is known as one of the largest industrial hubs in the country, so it has a lot of potential to develop industrial tourism.
This type of tourism is expected to be a unique feature to promote the image of local businesses.
Each month, the Yakult Việt Nam Co., LTD in Thuận An City welcomes about 3,000 people to visit its production line and operating processes, and to learn about the company's history. This is an emerging location that attracts many students and families with children to visit and learn about the products they are using.
Visitors can easily schedule a tour of the company via its website or phone number and it is completely free.
They will be provided with information about the structure of the Yakult factories, visit the 3D painting exhibition area, production line, souvenir stalls and the company's products.
Lê Thị Huyền, a first year student at Hồ Chí Minh City Open University, said that she was impressed at the closed production process with modern and advanced equipment in the factory.
The tour helped her better understand and feel more secure when using the product, she said.
Fito Museum, a Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Pharmacy based in Thuận An City, is also another interesting industrial tourist destination in Bình Dương.
It is a complex of more than 2,000sq.m of beautiful buildings in the traditional style of the three regions of Việt Nam.
Visitors will have chance to admire the collection of 1,000 paintings of medicinal herbs, considered to be the largest collection of medicinal paintings in Việt Nam. They can also look at models of Oriental medicine, Southern medicine and medicinal utensils dating back hundreds of years.
The museum displays 48 favourite and effective remedies by the progenitor of Vietnamese traditional medicine Hải Thượng Lãn Ông Lê Hữu Trác, who is honoured as an eminent personality by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Along with that, tourists are provided with more information about Vietnamese traditional medicine through the documentary "Eastern Experience" with four versions in Vietnamese, English, Russian and French and learn about effective esoteric medicine methods and experience oriental medicine making. Visitors can also mix and taste their own remedies under guidance from experts.
The museum is open every Tuesday and Saturday with ticket prices of VNĐ180,000 (US$7.2) and VNĐ280,000 (US$11.2).
Industrial tourism has been developing for a long time in many countries around the world, but in Việt Nam it is still very new.
Bình Dương is the industrial hub of the country with a series of modern industrial parks. Therefore, this is a locality with great potential in developing this tourism model.
Phạm Hồng Thi, Deputy Director of the province'd Tourism Promotion Centre, said along with a system of recognised historical and cultural relics, traditional craft villages and handicrafts with a history of more than 300 years, Bình Dương also has about 30 industrial parks with diverse fields and professions. These are advantages for the province to exploit and to develop industrial tourism.
Currently, the province is focusing on exploiting industrial tourism in industrial parks in Thuận An City, such as VSIP I industrial park, Đồng An Industrial Park, Yakult manufacturing factory, Fito Museum and a crocodile leather factory, Thi said.
Each month, these locations welcome tens of thousands of visitors.
However, many companies are still hesitant to approach this new tourism model because of issues such as security, production line secrecy and lack of experience.
To overcome these difficulties and develop more professionally, Thi said, in the coming time, the centre will organise a survey team with the participation of leaders of related departments to encourage and motivate businesses, factories and production facilities to participate in developing industrial tourism products.
At the same time, the centre will organise workshops between travel companies and businesses to exchange and build tours. It will also promote tourism products to potential customers through a variety of media channels such as newspapers, radio, social networks and travel magazines.