Hanoi (VNA) – The northern city of Hai Phong is looking to develop “ripe fruit season” tours as a new tourism product, capitalising on its agricultural strengths to attract travellers, boost rural tourism and enhance the value of local farm produce.

As lychee orchards turn bright red in early summer, the Dong Man Ecotourism Area in Thanh Ha commune is bustling with visitors eager to experience rural life and fruit harvesting. The model is emerging as a promising example of how agricultural resources can be transformed into tourism products, helping create a new growth driver for the local economy.

Located in one of the most renowned lychee-growing areas in the country, Dong Man offers visitors a chance to immerse themselves in the countryside rather than modern entertainment complexes. Guests can stroll through orchards, pick ripe lychees, take boat trips along the Dong Man River, and learn about the history and cultivation of Thanh Ha lychees.

Tran Thi Hoa, a visitor from Phu Tho province, said her family had purchased Thanh Ha lychees for years, but this was their first time visiting the orchards.

"Picking the fruit ourselves and learning about the origins of Thanh Ha lychees made the experience much more meaningful. Our children especially enjoyed activities they would never have in the city," she said.

The idea of developing tourism in Dong Man took shape more than 20 years ago. Pham Thi Liem, Director of the Dong Man Ecotourism Cooperative, said she was inspired by successful orchard tourism models in many Mekong Delta localities in the early 2000s.

“With our lychee orchards and the beautiful Dong Man River, I believed tourism could help promote the area while supporting local farmers in selling their produce,” Liem said.

After years of developing the site and learning from experience, the tourism area has gradually been refined with landscaped attractions, hands-on experience zones, rest areas, and activities that reflect the distinctive character of the northern Vietnamese countryside. Today, it welcomes tens of thousands of visitors during each lychee season.

According to Tran Van Ngoc, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the appeal of the model lies in its combination of eco-tourism and cultural experiences. Visitors not only enjoy local specialties but also participate in folk games, explore traditional village life and sample regional cuisine.

The success of these models demonstrates that agriculture can evolve into a tourism product with significant added value, generating higher incomes for local communities, he said.
The western area of Hai Phong is home to a range of well-known agricultural products, including Thanh Ha lychees and guavas, Nam Sach garlic, Cam Giang carrots, and Chi Linh free-range chicken. These products provide a strong foundation for agricultural and experiential tourism development.

Building on initial successes, Hai Phong plans to develop seasonal tourism products centred on harvest periods, with “ripe fruit season” tours expected to become a flagship offering.

Ngoc said that Hai Phong aims to connect fruit-growing areas with road and river transport networks to create integrated experiences for visitors. Tourism routes along rivers such as Thai Binh, Van Uc and Lach Tray could serve as gateways, bringing visitors to the distinctive agricultural and ecological areas in agricultural and ecological destinations in the western part of the city.

The city is also seeking to link rural tourism with traditional craft villages, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme, educational tours, eco-tourism sites and coastal destinations such as Do Son and Cat Ba to encourage travelers’ longer stays, he added.

As demand grows for green tourism and authentic community-based experiences, rural tourism in Hai Phong is expected to diversify the city’s tourism products while improving incomes for local residents, increasing the value of agricultural products and helping preserve local cultural values. The approach is seen as a sustainable development approach, enabling rural communities to boost their economies by leveraging their existing strengths and resources./.