Infrastructure, Technical Facilities:

The space of But Thap is both closed and open, surrounded by walls but seemingly without walls, the boundary between the temple and the outside world is difficult to distinguish.

But Thap Pagoda is a fairly complete architectural and artistic work, with many carvings, artifacts, worship objects, stone towers... which are an intact source of documents for the study of these types of religious architecture.

With the above values, But Thap Pagoda deserves to be one of the most valuable relics, a precious heritage of the whole country that needs special protection.

From the meaning and multifaceted value of But Thap Pagoda. The Ministry of Culture and Information ranked this as a national cultural heritage according to Decision No. 313/QD-BT, dated April 28, 1962.

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IV. Current exploitation status of But Thap pagoda.

a. General situation.

Nowadays, cultural tourism is increasingly popular with tourists. But Thap relic in Bac Ninh is a cultural object that can be exploited for tourism development in the province. Local people here have gradually exploited the ancient beauty along with the historical, cultural and architectural values of this unique pagoda for the development of tourism activities in the province. So what is the current status of tourism exploitation and development in this relic site, we will find out in turn.

Comment:

The number of visitors to Bac Ninh has increased steadily over the years, but the growth rate is not very large, and the number of visitors to But Thap Pagoda is also the same. Although it has increased, the growth rate is still low.

Tourists come to But Thap pagoda during the main festival season, which is on the 23rd and 24th of the third lunar month every year. In the beginning of the year, there are also quite a lot of visitors coming to the pagoda, but mainly local visitors and visitors from neighboring areas.

Most of the tourists who come to But Thap Pagoda are mainly for festival tourism combined with religious beliefs. This group of visitors accounts for 95%, the rest of the visitors may be on business trips, visitors, researchers or for purposes combined with tourism. This group of visitors mainly does not stay overnight.

The number of visitors to But Thap Pagoda is mainly domestic tourists, foreign visitors are still modest. Mainly local visitors and visitors from neighboring provinces such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong,...

In general, the number of visitors to But Thap Pagoda is still quite modest, not commensurate with the current potential of this tourist destination. Tourists coming here mainly do not stay overnight but only come to visit and then leave immediately. This is due to the following reasons:

- Outside of festivals, tourists come to these attractions on package tours of travel companies in Hai Phong, Hanoi... to visit Dau Pagoda, Dong Ho painting village, Phat Tich Pagoda... combined with a visit to But Thap Pagoda. Therefore, they only visit for a short time and do not use accommodation services. Moreover, there are no hotels or motels in the area, so the small number of overnight guests only sleep in local homes.

- In addition to the festival, tourists coming to this sightseeing spot are not only monotonous but also bring good impressions to visitors. But Thap Pagoda Festival is just a pagoda festival so it does not attract many visitors from afar. Folk games are gradually fading away, some still exist but have been cut down a lot. Meanwhile, this is the most attractive factor for tourists when traveling to festivals and is a factor that prolongs the length of stay of visitors.

- Local managers have not yet linked and connected with tourist attractions in the province and other provinces to create a long-term, reasonable and attractive tourism program for travel companies and tourists themselves.

- Because the number of visitors to But Thap Pagoda is still quite modest, and there is no entrance fee, the revenue from tourism activities is very low. The main source of revenue is from the donation fund of local people and tourists from all over the world. The tourism products here are still too monotonous, so they have not stimulated the consumption and shopping needs of tourists.

- The souvenir shops here are not rich in products, there are only a few shops selling small books introducing But Thap Pagoda and selling Dong Ho paintings... Overall, they have not created a unique feature to attract tourists.

- The guiding activities at But Thap Pagoda are still weak, up to now there is still no team of tour guides at the site to explain and guide tourists. Currently, the guiding activities at But Thap Pagoda are undertaken by a number of cultural officers, they have not been trained in tourism, so there are still many limitations in explaining and guiding tourists, especially for foreign visitors. Therefore, the historical, cultural and architectural values of But Thap Pagoda have not been fully appreciated by tourists.

2. Infrastructure and technical facilities:

Technical facilities and infrastructure play a particularly important role in the development of the industry, including food and beverage establishments, accommodation, entertainment facilities, service facilities and other means of transport.

A few years ago, the local infrastructure and technical facilities were still weak, but in recent years there have been many significant achievements, creating favorable conditions for tourists to come to But Thap Pagoda more easily.

- Infrastructure:

The electricity and water system serving the relic site has been installed but still has many limitations, not fully meeting the needs of tourists and facilities.

Businesses such as souvenir shops and entertainment facilities are still poor and only operate during the festival season and early spring of the new year, otherwise they are almost inactive.

The system of roads, bridges, and parking lots around the relic site has been basically invested in, but is not yet complete.

The communication system has also been built but is located quite far from the relic site for the convenience of visitors to the relic site.

In general, the infrastructure in the whole Bac Ninh province is relatively guaranteed, but the But Thap pagoda relic site needs more investment from the state and local authorities to keep up with the pace of life in the whole province.

- Technical facilities for tourism:

But Thap village is facing many difficulties in technical infrastructure for tourism. However, in recent years, the local government has invested in building more service facilities, souvenir shops... to some extent meeting the needs of tourists.

The system of technical facilities here is still weak because it is greatly affected by the seasonality and tourist characteristics of the relic, most visitors come to But Thap relic during the festival season (March of the lunar calendar), the rest of the year there are very few. Moreover, visitors come here mainly for the purpose of festival tourism, cultural and spiritual tourism and are usually day visitors, only a few use accommodation services, near the tourist site there are no restaurants, hotels... Maybe that is the reason why visitors cannot stay for a long time and reduce tourism revenue.

On the current status of tourism development investment:

Bac Ninh is a province with rich and unique human tourism resources to develop cultural tourism resources. However, in recent years, investment in tourism development in general and investment in exploiting the historical, cultural and architectural values of But Thap Pagoda relic for tourism development in particular have been limited. But Thap Pagoda has a long history, is a

The ancient temple is precious, but through the rain and sun, many of its parts have been damaged and need to be protected, invested in, and restored.

Along with it is the upgrading and expansion of some important routes into the relic site such as Highway 38, at the same time developing waterway traffic by canoe, motorboat into the relic site via Duong River, Cau River, Thai Binh River. Therefore, in the near future, But Thap Pagoda along with some relics in Bac Ninh will become a special cultural and religious tourist destination attracting domestic and foreign tourists.

Current status of organization and management of exploitation activities of But Thap pagoda in Bac

Ninh:

Tourism exploitation activities here are under the direct management of the

levels, sectors, local authorities, Department of Trade and Tourism of Bac Ninh province.

But Thap Pagoda has been well preserved to this day, and its restoration has always received attention from authorities at all levels.

In general, But Thap Pagoda is being well protected, but it needs more attention and synchronous management from all levels and sectors.

3. Promotional activities.

In recent times, the Department of Trade and Tourism of Bac Ninh province and local authorities have paid attention to promoting the outstanding values of But Thap Pagoda on mass media, on the internet, and publishing books and newspapers about But Thap Pagoda to attract visitors to But Thap Pagoda.

However, promotional activities are still limited, and some leaflets and brochures have not been designed to provide more images and information about the relics for domestic and foreign tourists. Promotional information on websites is still simple and not much, not creating a strong impression on tourists, and the funding for propaganda and advertising is limited.

The information provided has not aroused the curiosity of visitors. The festival here is just a temple festival....

Therefore, the issue here is that there must be coordination between all levels in promoting and publicizing the But Thap relic, not only for Vietnamese tourists to know but also for friends from all over the world to come here. This contributes greatly to the tourism revenue of Bac Ninh in particular and the whole country in general.

4. General assessment:

- Favorable:

The historical, cultural and architectural values of But Thap Pagoda relic are unique resources that can be exploited to develop cultural tourism in Bac Ninh.

The ancient beauty of this pagoda is in harmony with nature, not far from Dau Pagoda, near National Highway 38, is an important tourist attraction of the province and in the important tourist routes of the Red River Delta.

- Hard

In addition to the above advantages, But Thap pagoda relic cannot avoid difficulties in various aspects, specifically:

Infrastructure for tourism exploitation has been initially built but has not fully met the needs for tourism development, the infrastructure connecting surrounding points is still weak, the service system, communication information... has not fully met the needs of visitors. The system of technical facilities, entertainment areas, restaurants, hotels... is almost non-existent to serve visitors. Therefore, visitors often come and go during the day without staying overnight.

For cultural tourism, the seasonality is very high, tourists only focus on festivals, tourism products are still poor and monotonous, not creating unique tourism products to impress tourists.

Investment in tourism development is still modest, not fully exploiting the existing potential of the relic, and promotion and advertising for the relic have not received proper attention.

The management and exploitation of the values of relics for tourism development are still limited, and the social awareness of tourism among local residents is still poor. The local government in particular, as well as all levels and sectors of the province, do not have appropriate policies to attract investment capital for the exploitation of historical, cultural and architectural values as well as for the preservation and restoration of relics for tourism development.

Therefore, to effectively exploit the historical, cultural and architectural values of But Thap pagoda relic, it is necessary to have investment measures, reasonable development planning, and attention from all levels, sectors and local authorities so that But Thap relic can truly become an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

CHAPTER III : SOLUTIONS TO EXPLOIT THE HISTORICAL , CULTURAL AND ARCHITECTURAL VALUES OF BUT THAP PAGODA RELIC IN BAC NINH IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT .

1. Overview of tourism activities in Bac Ninh .

The tourism supply plays an important role in the development of the industry , including a system of accommodation , food and beverage establishments , entertainment and sports establishments , tourism service establishments and other means of transportation .

- Storage facility :

In recent years , along with the increase in the number of tourists and social needs , the system of private motels and restaurants has developed rapidly , partly meeting the accommodation needs of visitors to the tourist area . In 2005 , there were a total of 61 hotels and motels in the province , with 55 establishments with a total capital of over 35 billion VND .

In general , hotels , motels , and private restaurants develop spontaneously , leading to a difficult management situation that can disrupt planning and small scale that cannot meet the requirements of international guests . However , it can be seen that the technical infrastructure has been significantly improved due to the increasing demands of guests . The problem is that when developing accommodation types , Bac Ninh needs to prioritize the construction of star - rated hotels , with a direction to limit the construction of low - quality hotels and motels .

- Food and beverage infrastructure system :

Dining establishments are very diverse , most hotels and motels have food and beverage services , from specialty to popular restaurants are always ready .