Interaction between cultural heritage conservation and tourism development

Vietnam History Science Association has just coordinated with Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee to hold a seminar about conserving and upholding the value of cultural heritages and tourism development. At the seminar, the researchers asserted the mutual relationship between cultural heritage conservation and tourism development and discussed the matter of exploiting cultural heritages.

 

Reinvestment in cultural heritages required

 

At the seminar, the researchers said that cultural heritage conservation has to go together with sustainable development of tourism. “When planning the projects of cultural heritage restoration and conservation, the cultural industry needs to set double targets which are conserving and keeping the original cultural value for the next generations and embellishing those heritages in order to meet the demands of tourism development. Cultural tourism should be acknowledged to be one of the ways to promote and uphold cultural value, which will help to assert the heritages’ enduring position and value,” said Dang Van Bai, Deputy Chairman of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association. 

 

According to the researchers, in order to uphold the value of cultural heritages well, there should be suitable services for each type of heritages. Apart from that, the reinvestment in the heritages is a must. “The cultural heritages are not the infinite resources; therefore, it requires the reinvestment in these heritages in order to preserve them. In fact, many localities have not invested in the cultural heritages while exploiting them,” said Associate Professor – PhD Lam Thi My Dung (Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities).

 

Making Cham pottery at Ponagar Temple.

 

At the seminar, the researchers emphasized the role and interest of the public in conserving the cultural heritages. According to PhD Ngo Vuong Anh (Nhandan Newspaper), expanding the tourism sites through the bidding makes the public to be unable to share the benefits from the heritages by accident. This has made the public not to consider the heritages as a part of their life. Therefore, in order for the pubic to protect the cultural heritages, apart from propaganda, the authorities need to make ways for them to benefit from those heritages. 

 

An appropriate museum needed

 

According to Khanh Hoa Provincial Heritage Conservation Center, Khanh Hoa now has 16 relics at national level, 166 relics at provincial level (103 historic, cultural relics, 8 archaeological relics, 17 event memorial relics).

The researchers asserted that Khanh Hoa Province has many heritages to spur the tourism development, especially sea and island cultural heritages and archaeology. However, like many other localities in Vietnam, Khanh Hoa has being faced many difficulties in conserving heritages and developing tourism. At present, Khanh Hoa has many heritages bearing the historic and cultural value but having not been exploited well, such as Dien Khanh Ancient Citadel, Dien Khanh Temple of Literature, Am Chua, Ba Vu Mausoleum, Dr. Alexandre Yersin’s relic, and memorial site for C235 Ship. The researchers suggested that Khanh Hoa should have more cultural tourism tours and produce souvenirs bearing the local culture, etc.

 

Also at the seminar, there were many suggestions that Khanh Hoa should build a museum which is appropriate with the province’s economic and social development. According to historian Duong Trung Quoc, the museum is not only a place to conserve the cultural and historic heritages but also a tourism destination. 

 

Associate Professor – PhD Lam Thi My Dung said that Khanh Hoa Museum should be built and invested to be a main museum in the South Central region. The museum should focus on displaying province’s archaeological achievements highlighting the characteristics of Sa Huynh and Champa in Khanh Hoa. Besides, there also should be good investments for the sea and island culture.

 

In addition, many researchers also suggested that Hoa Diem Archaeological Relic (Cam Thinh Dong, Cam Ranh City) should be built as an archaeological park.

 

Xuan Thanh

Translated by H.N