As one of the pioneers in creating sustainable and responsible eco-tourism activities in villages in Nam Dinh, Ms. Bui Thi Nhan – CEO of Ecohost Hai Hau and Tonkin Legends Company have supported Restructuring traditional houses of each region while still ensuring the preservation of local cultural identity.

This has helped create more jobs for people, promote and design unique handmade products, and support people to improve products to meet customer needs. Besides, it helps open up output for handicraft and agricultural products to bring high profits to those localities.

In addition, she is also the one who supports and encourages the people of Hong Quang Ancient Water Puppet Village to create a sightseeing and experience destination for tourists on the “Southern Citadel Heritage Road” tour and create an attractive destination. many domestic and foreign tourists.

Located only 2 and a half hours away from Hanoi, homestay Ecohost Hai Hau, in Yen Dinh Town, Hai Hau District, Nam Dinh is one of the resort destinations that many foreign tourists are interested in, decorated in accordance with Vietnamese culture. culture of the Northern Delta, experience the lifestyle of the ancients.

This is a high-quality community tourism model with full suites, rooms, bars, and kitchens like a resort, implemented according to sustainable tourism standards of Asia and the Swiss sustainable tourism organization. Accordingly, tourists do not use plastic water bottles or disposable items in the restroom. Encourage guests to bring their own personal items to reduce waste into the environment. Using some methods to recycle basic waste at the bar, orange peels, tangerine peels, and fruit peels used for fermentation become dishwashing liquid. Decompose waste identified as organic. With inorganic waste, probiotics are used to convert it into fertilizer water for plants.

But few people know how the owner of this accommodation has gone through “stormy” days in the past 4 years of struggling with Covid and economic difficulties to maintain what it is today.

Sharing with Dan Viet, Ms. Bui Thi Nhan said: “In early 2018, I participated in the Mekong sub-region innovation startup travel program including 6 countries in the Mekong region and won second prize. Creative ideas in the Mekong sub-region.

Initially when I participated, I thought I was going to learn, not that I would win a prize. However, when my idea was called, I was quite surprised and happy. Even though it was just an idea, right following winning the award, many people offered to buy the idea, even asking to buy it at a high price, but I refused and returned to Vietnam, I started building a model consistent with the idea. there.

In 2019, Ecohost went into operation, but immediately encountered the Covid -19 epidemic so there were times when it had to close. When we don’t practice social distancing, we still welcome guests, but to maintain it, we face many economic difficulties. There are times when our finances are not abundant, so I have to calculate what to do first. , put any work aside and do it later.

Even though it was difficult to maintain finances like that, I still tried to hang on, because I started Echohost from scratch, spent many sleepless nights and was dedicated to it, I thought I mightn’t easily do it. give up. In 2022, Nam Dinh province also evaluated this accommodation facility to meet 4-star standards, followed by the media, from there Ecohost became more known, localities in the provinces also came to visit, learn and learn. The number of foreign tourists also knowing and coming to experience it has increased.

In 2023, I upgraded and was rated 5 stars. Last November 2023, Ecohost became a peak, with foreign guests fully booking rooms.”

Ms. Bui Thi Nhan added: “The products we build are also very special, not just a resort experience like many Vietnamese guests are going. We introduce a new trend, that is, European visitors come to Vietnam.” Men do not simply go on vacation, but they travel to Vietnam to learn regarding the culture and daily life of the people. In particular, each family has its own story. This special thing We intentionally started with the name Ecohost. Host means family, Eco means coming to each home’s own story.

Many foreign tourists, following experiencing in Vietnam, wrote feedback that when they came to Hai Hau, stayed at Ecohost, and experienced each family’s personal story, they found it very interesting. There are even many guests who, following a day of experiencing tours in Hai Hau, when returning for dinner at Ecohost, they pulled out their phones and immediately gave it 5 stars. I think those are the results that we have been trying for many days. Up to now, Ecohost has been operating stably, and we are basically in the process of fully packaging this model and will go in the direction of duplicating, finding establishments with taste, criteria, and standards. lasting. We will support and accompany development.”

Passionate and dedicated to the profession

I asked you, having encountered so many difficulties and challenges, have you ever wanted to quit your job in tourism? She smiled and said: “There were times when I was tired and felt like I mightn’t keep up with my career, so I gave up and tried to find new jobs that weren’t related to travel. However, for a while I felt like Feeling bored, I went back to doing tourism.

Actually, it’s better to do what you love. I do tourism because of my passion. If I say I do it to make money, then doing another job wouldn’t be as strenuous as this.”

Recalling that the period of giving birth coincided with the Covid period, Ms. Nhan had tears in her eyes as she recounted how difficult it was for her to overcome. She said, she wakes up early in the morning to pick up guests, only when she comes home in the evening does she have time to breastfeed her baby, and the next morning she has to wake up early to pick up guests, every day is the same, repeating the same process.

“At that time, my child didn’t understand why he liked to play at night, so he woke up every 12 o’clock at night to play and cry. For 3 consecutive years, I didn’t have a good night’s sleep. And I kept losing sleep. sick.

There were times when I was constantly away from home on Saturdays and Sundays. In 2018-2019, I organized farmtrip groups every two weeks, and then received bookings for many tourist groups, but because of Covid, I stopped. Now, every time I talk regarding that difficult and arduous period, I cry,” Ms. Nhan said emotionally.

As a passionate and dedicated person, she always wants to build a green, sustainable tourism model and wants to replicate this model in many localities. Besides, she also wants to launch handicraft experiences, including braiding straw brooms, weaving baskets…

“I want to preserve and preserve the culture and activities of ancient Vietnamese farmers. If I don’t do it, the old men and women who held these cultural features will no longer be able to pass it on to them. generation of children and grandchildren will lose that culture,” Ms. Nhan said.