Traditional Craft Villages Serving Tourism in Thua Thien Hue Province in the Period 2008-2012

In addition, Thua Thien Hue's craft villages are very rich and diverse, bearing both the traditional features of the countryside and the interweaving, acculturation and exchange of Cham - Vietnamese - Chinese cultures through the remaining spiritual heritages such as worshiping the craft's ancestors, worshiping the founders and the gods in the countryside, and annual festivals in the craft villages.

Regarding the personality of people in traditional craft villages, it can be seen through the handicraft works of the craftsmen that they are delicate, discreet, meticulous, creative, persistent, honest, and hard-working. These are the characteristics of craftsmen in craft villages, although they have been in the profession for hundreds of years, they cannot forget their roots and the characteristics of small production.

In addition to the traditional craft villages that exist and develop in the plains of Thua Thien Hue, in the mountainous areas there is also a rich source of handicraft products with great potential of the Paco, Ta Oi, K Tu, Van Kieu, Pahy ethnic groups such as weaving, sculpture, lantern weaving, etc. Up to now, it is a traditional craft of high value, worthy of being widely introduced to domestic and foreign tourists, contributing to the development of non-traditional handicrafts serving tourism in the province.

3.1.2.2. Tourism potential

The tourism potential of Thua Thien Hue province is very rich and diverse, including rivers, mountains, lakes, lagoons, forests, mountains, seas ... and famous historical and cultural relics such as the complex of Hue ancient capital relics and royal court music, which are tangible and intangible cultural heritages of the world recognized by UNESCO. In addition, there are hundreds of communal houses and pagodas with unique national architecture along with a huge intangible cultural treasure of religious, folk and royal festivals ... Thua Thien Hue province's tourism resources are distributed quite concentrated in some areas such as Hue city and surrounding areas, Canh Duong - Lang Co - Bach Ma

- Hai Van, A Luoi - Ho Chi Minh Road... this is one of the potentials

strengths to build Thua Thien Hue province into a major tourist center of Vietnam with all types of suitable tourism such as eco-tourism, sea tourism, cultural tourism, resort tourism, research... At the same time, this is also one of the premises of special significance to promote the development of traditional craft villages, in which traditional craft villages serving tourism have the strongest potential for development [72].

3.1.2.3. Infrastructure

- Transportation system: convenient for tourism development and expanding the circulation of goods, thereby creating conditions for traditional craft villages to develop in the direction of specializing in tourism services, with Hue station in the city center and Phu Bai International Airport.[72]

- Power supply system: in addition to the national power grid system with about 315 km of medium voltage lines and over 1,000 km of low voltage lines with over 450 distribution transformer stations, a number of hydropower plants are being invested in such as Huong Dien, Binh Dien and A Luoi, which will be put into operation in the years 2008 - 2012, with a Diesel backup power generation system with a capacity of 7,200 KVA to ensure power supply for important projects when there is a power grid failure.[72]

- Clean water supply system: the clean water supply system for Hue city and surrounding areas is taken from the surface water of the Huong River; for Huong Tra and Quang Dien districts, it is taken from the Bo River; in Chan May, it is taken from the Boghe and Me streams; for Nam Dong, it is taken from the Ta Trach River; for Phu Bai, it is taken from underground water sources.[72]

- Communication system: relatively developed, postal services have high quality, currently fiber optic cables have reached district centers, Internet services, ADSL, etc. are increasingly developing, well meeting the needs of people and production in centers and industrial parks in the province.[72]

3.2. TRADITIONAL CRAFT VILLAGES SERVING TOURISM IN THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE IN THE PERIOD 2008-2012

3.2.1. Tourism products of traditional craft villages serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province

The tourism products of LNTT serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province are products that have both economic value and traditional value, vividly reflecting the value of national and local cultural identity, so they are attractive to domestic and foreign tourists, including specific groups of handicraft products such as: bamboo and rattan weaving, conical hats, paper paintings and paper flowers, fired pottery, fine art wood, bronze casting and other types of tourism services here, specifically as follows:

3.2.1.1. Revenue from handicraft products of traditional craft villages serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province

In the period of 2008 - 2012, depending on each product group such as rattan and bamboo weaving, or conical hats, or paper paintings and paper flowers, or baked pottery, fine art woodwork or bronze casting, their consumption situation at the LNTT serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province was different. In 2008, 2010, 2012 were the years of the big Festival, this is one of the biggest festival events of the year in the province, so the number of domestic and foreign tourists to Hue increased dramatically, the demand for shopping, entertainment and relaxation of the people in the province also increased significantly. The handicrafts serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province are known to more tourists through traditional craft village tours, festival programs related to traditional craft villages serving tourism, from which the handicraft products of the handicrafts serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province are consumed more than the rest of the year. Therefore, the consumption of handicraft products of the handicrafts serving tourism has fluctuated over the years from 2008 to 2012, specifically shown in Table 3.2 as follows:

Table 3.2 : Consumption situation of handicraft products of LNTT serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province

Year

Target

Year 2008		Year 2009		2010		2011		2012
SL ( 1000SP)	TL (%)	SL ( 1000SP)	TL (%)	SL ( 1000SP)	TL (%)	SL ( 1000SP)	TL (%)	SL ( 1000SP)	TL (%)
1. Bamboo and rattan	680	100	900	100	930	100	1,350	100	1,972	100
2. Conical hat	1,100	100	1,220	100	1,350	100	1,600	100	2,860	100
3. Paper paintings and paper flowers	535	100	617	100	718	100	819	100	1,024	100
4. Fired ceramics	108.2	100	118	100	126.5	100	120.2	100	121	100
5. Wood art	205	100	220	100	260	100	315	100	395	100
6. Bronze casting	150	100	158.5	100	168.0	100	180	100	189	100

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(Source: NCS calculation results from [57])

Thus, it can be seen that:

- For the group of rattan and bamboo products: this is a quite diverse product group with many different types and specifications, but the design and quality of the products are still limited. Therefore, from 2008 to 2012, the number of products consumed in this group of products increased gradually over the years, from 680 thousand products in 2008 to 1,972 thousand products in 2012 (an increase of 1,292 thousand products). (see table 3.2)

- For the group of conical hats: this is a group of products that represents the typical culture of Hue people, loved by locals and tourists. In 2008, the number of products consumed in this group was 1,100 thousand products, which increased to 2,860 thousand products (an increase of 1,760 thousand products) in 2012. (see table 3.2)

- For the group of paper paintings and paper flowers: this is a seasonal product, mainly serving beliefs and folk festivals in the province, so it is not a decorative product, so during the season, the LNTT serving tourism in this product group can still be made and consumed by local people.

For the purpose of serving tourism, it is mainly about experience and sightseeing. From 2008 to 2012, the number of products consumed in this product group increased gradually over the years, from 535 thousand products in 2008 to 1,024 thousand products in 2012 (an increase of 489 thousand products). (see table 3.2)

- For the group of fine art wooden products: although this group of products is known to the domestic and foreign markets, due to the small production capacity, it only serves the local market or participates in indirect export through some large companies in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi such as products for restoring traditional houses, restoring furniture, gilding, etc. In 2008, this group of products consumed 108.2 thousand products and in 2012 it was 121 thousand products (an increase of 12.8 thousand products). (see table 3.2)

- For the group of fired ceramic products: the fired ceramic products of Phuoc Tich craft village still have many limitations in terms of design and quality because they have only been restored in the past few years, so the problem of product consumption is still very difficult. In 2008, the number of products consumed in this group was 205 thousand products, which increased to 395 thousand products (an increase of 190 thousand products). (see table 3.2)

- For bronze casting products: bronze casting products are quite diverse such as handicrafts, worship items, industrial casting products. In particular, there are some to serve the restoration and historical and cultural relics, so they mainly serve domestic needs. From 2008 to 2012, the number of products consumed in this product group increased gradually over the years, from 150 thousand products in 2008 to 189 thousand products in 2012 (an increase of 39 thousand products). (see table 3.2)

The above analysis shows specifically the consumption situation of handicraft products of LNTT serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province in the period of 2008-2012: the increase in consumption of all product groups of LNTT serving tourism is not high, not commensurate with the current potential of the province.

These LNTs, because these products are not really attractive to tourists, their usefulness is not high and product promotion is not really effective, making tourists lack detailed information about the products, the products have uneven quality, the aesthetics combined with tradition are not sophisticated, the commerciality of the products is still limited.

Revenue from consumption of handicraft products of tourism-serving enterprises in Thua Thien Hue province in the period of 2008-2012 tended to increase, making the local tourism industry tend to develop closely with tourism-serving enterprises, as shown as follows:

Table 3.3 : Revenue from consumption by handicraft product group of LNTT serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province

Product group name

Profit after tax for tourism

Revenue from sales of products of LNTT serving tourism
Year 2008		Year 2009		2010		2011		2012
SL (billion VND)	TL (%)	SL (billion VND)	TL (%)	SL (billion VND)	TL (%)	SL (billion VND)	TL (%)	SL (billion VND)	TL (%)
1. Bamboo and rattan	3.0	12.4	3.5	13.8	4.0	14.0	5.3	14.9	7.3	17.0
2. Conical hat	4.0	16.5	4.7	18.5	5.3	18.6	6.3	17.7	7.8	18.2
3.Paper paintings and paper flowers	0.2	0.8	0.2	0.8	0.3	1.0	0.9	2.5	1.1	2.6
4. Fired ceramics	0.8	3.3	0.8	3.1	0.9	3.2	1.0	2.8	1.2	2.8
5. Wood art	9.2	38.1	9.2	36.2	10.0	35.0	12.0	33.8	14.0	32.6
6. Bronze casting	7.0	28.9	7.0	27.6	8.0	28.2	10.0	28.3	11.5	26.8
Total	24.2	100	25.4	100	28.5	100	35.5	100	42.9	100

(Source: NCS calculation results from [56])

Through table 3.3, we can see that: in the product groups of LNTT serving tourism in Thua Thien Hue province, the product groups of rattan and bamboo weaving, conical hats and fine art wood have the dominant product consumption rate, because these are typical product groups of Hue, affordable prices, easy to use in many areas.

The purpose of tourists is to make souvenirs, use as daily living materials, decorate..., so these product groups are consumed more than the remaining product groups, contributing to increasing revenue for tourism service enterprises in the province, specifically: in 2008, revenue of these product groups reached from about 3 billion VND to 9.2 billion VND and by 2012 it increased to about 7.8 billion VND to 14 billion VND.

On the contrary, the groups of products of fired ceramics, paper paintings and paper flowers, bronze casting are groups of products with specific and unique characteristics, and have only been restored in recent years, mainly serving the local needs and religious needs of local people, so the consumption rate of their products is quite low, making the revenue of these product groups increase insignificantly over the years. This affects the psychology and investment in production and business as well as investment in developing tourism services in LNTT serving tourism of households and entities participating in production and business in the province, specifically: in 2008, the revenue of the group of paper paintings and paper flowers reached 0.2 billion VND (the lowest among the product groups of LNTT serving tourism), the group of fired ceramic products reached 0.8 billion VND, the group of bronze casting products reached 7 billion VND; By 2012, there was an increase but not significant, only about 1.1 billion VND to 11.5 billion VND.

Thus, it can be seen that the revenue proportion of the wood and bronze casting products group accounts for the highest proportion over the years, specifically: in 2008, the revenue of these two product groups accounted for 28.9% - 38.1%, by 2012 this figure was in the range of 26.8% - 32.6%, this is because these two product groups themselves have high value, the orders have very large value. On the contrary, the revenue achieved by the remaining product groups such as bamboo and rattan weaving, conical hats, paper paintings and paper flowers, and fired ceramics accounts for a low proportion and tends to fluctuate little over the years from 2008 - 2012, because these products have low value, and at the same time have a

seasonal, this is clearly shown in chart 3.1 as follows:

Unit: %

Chart 3.1 : Revenue proportion by product group of net profit

serving tourists in Thua Thien Hue province

(Source: NCS calculation results from [56])

Production and business activities at tourism service enterprises in Thua Thien Hue province, in addition to selling handicraft products, also provide tourism services, so the total revenue of tourism service enterprises is collected from two sources: revenue from the channel selling handicraft products (including wholesale and retail) and revenue from tourism services of tourism service enterprises in Thua Thien Hue province (guides, tours, experiences...) shown as follows:

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