Hanoi is establishing many showrooms to promote and sell OCOP products linked to tourism and local craft villages

Integrating OCOP into tourism supply chain

According to the Hanoi Office for New Rural Development, the city currently has over 2,700 products included in the OCOP Program, with 3- to 5-star certifications. Many products belong to the culinary and memorial industries. In fact, many industries and localities have integrated OCOP products into tourism activities, like Gia Lam, Hoan Kiem, Son Tay, Chuong My, Phu Xuyen, Thuong Tin and Thanh Tri districts. Souvenirs such as ceramics, bamboo and rattan items and mother-of-pearl inlays or culinary products like lotus tea, rice rolls and pork spring rolls have both enhanced the attractiveness of tours and boosted local production. In particular, Hong Van Rural Tourism Service Site (Thuong Tin district) and Phu Dong Green Park Ecological Area (Gia Lam district), after being recognized as 4-star OCOP products, have become charismatic tourist destinations.

Mr. Mai Van Ngan, Vice Chairman of Hong Van commune, said: Hong Van will be an attractive destination for tourists far and wide and turn trade, services and tourism into key economic sectors by 2025. The commune also continues to promote its strengths, with a focus on developing trade, tourism, services and craft villages. “Based on its research and assessment, the commune defined tourism development as a right and inevitable approach for its stable, sustainable and friendly economic development. This has helped develop agricultural production, trade and service sectors, utilize local tourism potential and strengths to improve income, material and spiritual life of the people,” he added.

Compared to many other localities, Tay Ho district does not have many OCOP products, but it is a typical example of combining tourism development with OCOP products. Currently, more than 40 OCOP products in the district have been evaluated and recognized by Hanoi City. Most of the products are combined with tourism activities. Typical examples include its traditional cakes (like baked cakes, sticky rice cakes, pork rolls and green rice cakes) or Tay Ho lotus tea and Phu Thuong sticky rice have long been known as 4-star OCOP products. Currently, in addition to developing products, Tay Ho district prioritizes developing OCOP products in line with community tourism service to create the “Tay Ho OCOP tourism services” product.

To develop OCOP products associated with tourism, Hanoi is building dozens of innovative design centers and showrooms to promote and sell OCOP products and tourism-driven craft villages like the Center for Innovative Design, Introduction, Promotion and Marketing of OCOP Products and Craft Villages linked with tourism in Bat Trang commune (Gia Lam district), Chuyen My commune (Phu Xuyen) and Phu Nghia (Chuong My). These centers aim to increase the value of handicraft products, OCOP products and craft villages, build a closed chain from creative design, production and processing to marketing by preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of craft villages with community tourism, agritourism and rural tourism in the circular economy.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said that the establishment of centers for innovative design, introduction, promotion and marketing of OCOP products and craft villages associated with tourism will help create an environment to support rural industrial entities and production and business entities in craft villages to form and develop creative design, introduce, promote and sell OCOP products and craft village products associated with developing experiential tourism forms, thus helping restructure the rural economy in the city.

Leveraging local products

Nguyen Dinh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: Hanoi, known as the "Land of Hundred Trades," boasts 1,350 craft villages, including 331 officially recognized by the Hanoi People's Committee. The city is home to 1,090 active agricultural cooperatives, 1,695 farms, 149 production and consumption chains, over 164 high-tech applied models, and more than 13,000 traceable agricultural, forest, and aquatic products.

Particularly, Hanoi and 43 provinces and cities across the country have actively maintained and supported the development of 977 safe food supply chains for Hanoi. To advertise local products, the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has proactively coordinated with the Departments of Industry and Trade, the Department of Tourism, the Department of Health, districts and towns to organize events, fairs, festivals, seminar and week shows to promote investment, trade and tourism to introduce OCOP products, craft villages, agricultural products and foods to meet consumer needs and introduce tourism and cultural products to domestic and foreign consumers and tourists, thereby helping popularize local agricultural products to other provinces and cities, stimulate demand, boost trade and flaunt its products together with other localities across the country.

Mr. Ngo Van Ngon, Deputy Chief of the Hanoi Coordination Office for New Rural Development, said: Seeing craft villages as a large space for its OCOP Program development, Hanoi City has adopted many policies and strategies to support the development of craft villages, contributing to the preservation, conservation and development of traditional trades, craft villages and cottage industries. In particular, the OCOP Program has helped craft villages focus more on innovation, design and other activities to preserve their cultural identity and have improvements suitable for modern trends and integration. The OCOP Program has also motivated generations of artisans and skilled workers to pass on their skills to next generations, enabling the preservation and development of craft villages.

To enhance product quality in its craft villages, Hanoi has been supporting cooperatives, cooperative groups, and households by facilitating infrastructure development, production site improvements, technology transfer and community tourism initiatives.