However, increasing visitor numbers or adding more destinations to tour itineraries is only the first step. Craft village tourism can become truly sustainable only when the people who preserve the crafts benefit from tourism and when it breathes new life into the places where those crafts originated.

Turning crafts into tourism products

At Bat Trang pottery village, many visitors want to experience what it feels like to be a craftsperson, sitting at a potter’s wheel and shaping a product with their own hands, or watching how clay is mixed and glaze is applied, and learning about the different stages of the pottery-making process.

In 2026, Ha Noi’s tourism sector piloted an agricultural-craft village tour that combines pottery-making experiences with a meal shared with artisans and an exploration of the history of ancient villages along the Red River.

At the same time, a number of new products are being developed and piloted, including a community-based tourism model linked to Muong ethnic culture in My Duc, as well as heritage and historical-site experience tours in Ha Mo. These developments partly reflect an expanding market for craft villages, both in Ha Noi and across the country as a whole.

Recent developments show that there remains considerable room for growth. In 2026, Ha Noi celebrated the recognition of Chuyen My mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer craft village and Son Dong fine-art lacquer carving craft village as members of the World Craft Cities Network, bringing the total number of the capital’s craft villages in the network to four, following Bat Trang and Van Phuc, which were recognised in 2024.

Elsewhere, craft villages are also finding appropriate ways to connect with tourism. For example, the brocade-weaving craft of the Thai ethnic group in Nghe An was added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2025, alongside efforts to develop raw-material areas and improve livelihoods for local residents.

In Ninh Binh, destinations such as Ninh Van stone carving, Bo Bat pottery and Van Lam embroidery are gradually being incorporated into tour itineraries by more travel companies.

The trend towards greater connectivity between destinations is creating longer journeys. For instance, recent proposals have called for a north-eastern tourism route linking Ha Noi-Bac Ninh-Thai Nguyen-Quang Ninh, with highlights including Bac Ninh wood carving, Tan Cuong tea in Thai Nguyen and Dong Trieu pottery in Quang Ninh. This would give handicraft products more scope to become a meaningful part of the overall travel experience.

As of the end of 2025, the country had around 5,400 craft villages and villages practising traditional crafts. According to Ha Thi Vinh, Chairwoman of the Ha Noi Handicraft and Craft Village Association, many places still lack sufficiently distinctive products, and experiential activities remain limited with few links to travel companies.

Without sufficiently in-depth experiences that showcase the unique characteristics of each craft, their distinctiveness can easily be blurred, making it difficult to generate lasting appeal.

A rise in visitor numbers does not necessarily mean that traditional crafts get the chance to develop. Services may thrive, but if skilled craftspeople receive only a small share of tourism revenue, if young people are reluctant to pursue the craft long term because of low incomes, and if production spaces continue to shrink, then the bustle outside will not be enough to give traditional crafts lasting vitality.

If villages rush to cater to sightseeing demand, production processes can also be simplified, with only the stages that are easy to watch and sell put on display. Meanwhile, the more complex techniques and genuine craft knowledge that actually create the appeal may have little opportunity to be showcased.

Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, noted that alongside villages that have become attractive destinations, many traditional crafts still face the risk of dying out and gradually losing their authenticity.

The environment is also part of the development challenge. Production in some craft villages generates dust, smoke and wastewater, while large numbers of visitors place additional pressure on traffic and shared living spaces.

A destination promoting green experiences will struggle to convince visitors if the production environment and living conditions of local residents themselves have not improved.

Therefore, sustainable development in craft villages does not necessarily mean bringing in ever larger numbers of visitors to a limited space.

The carrying capacity of the village and the everyday rhythm of residents’ lives must be taken into account from the outset when tourism products are designed.

Creating greater value for craft villages

The issue today is not simply how to unlock potential, but how to organise tourism in a way that creates additional value for craft villages, starting with the distinctive identity of each place.

Bat Trang pottery in Ha Noi differs from Chu Dau pottery in Hai Phong and Phu Lang pottery in Bac Ninh. Thai brocade is likewise different from the brocade of the Muong, Gia Rai and Cham ethnic groups in terms of materials, colours and patterns.

Tourism products are unlikely to leave a lasting impression if a successful model from one place is simply copied wholesale elsewhere. Many experts point out that, alongside training local residents in tourism and digitalising destinations, tour guides need to improve their storytelling skills.

Technology can provide support, but stories about the crafts must still be told by people who understand the craft and live within that environment.

At the same time, the role of the community in the value chain should be strengthened. Artisans can directly guide visitors through hands-on experiences, producing households can take part in product design, while local residents can provide food and accommodation services. They should also have a greater role and voice in determining the scale and methods of developing tourism at local destinations.

Pham Trung Luong, former Deputy Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research, said that sustainable craft village tourism requires a long-term strategy, active community participation, conservation linked to economic benefits, and a shift towards green tourism models.

Sieu said that when craft village residents become the driving force behind tourism activities, cultural heritage is protected while opportunities are created for Viet Nam’s tourism sector to assert its distinctive identity in international markets.

Effectiveness should therefore be assessed more comprehensively than simply by visitor numbers. Length of stay and spending are important indicators, but for craft villages, attention must also be paid to the income of craft-making households, the number of young people still willing to learn the craft, the ability to pass skills down between generations, and the extent to which the community’s living environment remains intact.

These should not necessarily form a uniform set of criteria for every locality, but they are questions that should be asked after each stage of development.

Craft villages can become a distinctive advantage for Viet Nam’s tourism sector. What needs to be done now, however, is not to turn every craft village into a tourist attraction, but to adopt approaches suited to the characteristics and capacity of each locality.

When craftspeople can make a living from their craft, young people still want to pursue it, and villages retain their own rhythm of life, tourism will truly be helping to drive sustainable development.

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