Grasping the strong development trend of digital technology (CNS), Long An tourism has gradually transformed, applying CNS to tourism development.
The first digital route - virtual tour design contest in Long An
On November 23, 2022, the website of Hong Bang International University officially posted information about Long An Tourism contest via digital route - virtual tour and received supports from students. In addition, announcements and open letters about the contest were also sent to other universities and colleges.
Information about Long An Tourism contest via digital route - virtual tour on website of Hong Bang University
After a period of careful preparation, the first contest on digital route - virtual tour design in Long An officially kicked off. According to Dr. Bui Thi Ngoc Phuong - Head of Tourism Department, Hong Bang International University, Long An tourism via digital route - virtual tour is the first playground for tourism students with CNS integration. Dr. Bui Thi Ngoc Phuong said: “In the past, competitions for tourism students were mainly narration, traditional tour guides contests. This contest requires students to know how to apply CNS to the product, creating something new and attracting students. This is one of the activities under the cooperation signing program between Long An and Hong Bang University. In the future, the school will coordinate with the locality to implement many other activities.”
The Long An Tourism Competition via digital route - virtual tour requires participating teams to use the resources provided on the digital map dulichsolongan.com and dulichsolongan.vn to design a tour about Long An. The competition has two rounds: Preliminary and Final.
Contestants participating in the preliminary round can send tour design on Word or Powerpoint files to the Organizing Committee for online grading. The authors whose products have passed the preliminary round are allowed to participate in a survey tour in Long An to understand the local destinations in order to supplement and complete the contest products, thereby helping to improve product quality and practical application.
Products participating in the final round are presented in the form of videos or 3D graphics. The incorporation of CNS into tourism is not new. However, this is the first playground in Long An for students of universities and colleges. The combination of youth, technology agility and well-trained background of tourism students will help the contest as well as the image of Long An tourism to spread widely.
According to Director of the Provincial Tourism Information and Promotion Center - Do Thi Kim Dung, one of the judging criteria is the shares and likes on social networks of the products. That is to increase the spread of information and help more people know about Long An tourism. In addition, the most important criterion of the contest is to find a suitable and feasible tour in Long An. After the final night, the highly appreciated product will be transformed into a reward tour for the teams with achievements in the competition.
Towards the application of digital technology in tourism
After the contest, tours and routes will be posted on the Digital Map of destinations and facilities for Long An tourism service. At that point, visitors can find out details and specifics about Long An tourism. The ranking finale of the competition is expected to take place at the end of 2022.
The Digital Map of Long An tourist destinations and facilities has been operated and continues to be perfected, integrated more facilities to serve visitors
It is one of the activities to promote the application of CNS in Long An tourism development, step by step completing the Digital Map of destinations and facilities to serve Long An tourism. Ms. Do Thi Kim Dung said: “Up to now, the Digital Map of Long An tourist destinations and facilities has been put into operation and is in the completing process. The center also bought new domain names to help visitors easily access the page to find information. In addition to the Long An tourism contest via digital route - virtual tour, the Center also built a forum on introducing, exchanging and producing agricultural products for tourism right on the digital map. Visitors can choose and buy Long An's OCOP products easily with one click. The forum is expected to launch in December 2022.
According to the plan, the forum on introducing, exchanging and producing of agricultural products for tourism of the province will have all information related to OCOP products, typical products, tourism products,etc of the province, thereby, helping to build a unique image for Long An tourism, attracting tourists, forming a fast and modern supply chain and digital payment.
After Long An Culture - Tourism Week in 2022, the number of tourists to Long An increased. Businesses and travel companies are also interested in investing in Long An tourism. In order to catch the breath of fresh air, Long An tourism industry strives to renew, catch up with general development of society, promote the application of CNS through practical jobs to create bright expectations for Long An tourism./.
By Que Lam - Translated by Q. Thien