Linking OCOP products with tourism

Catering to tourist preferences

While producers and businesses once struggled to sell OCOP products and increase revenue, their sales channels are now broader and more diverse, with multiple sources, one of which is serving tourists seeking experiential activities.

In Cat Hai Special Zone, traditional fish sauce-making villages are home to many businesses producing fish sauce products recognized as three- and four-star OCOP ones.

Notably, some fish sauce products of Cat Hai Seafood Processing and Services JSC and Quang Hai Co., Ltd. were recognized as five-star OCOP products by the Central government in early 2025.

Bui Duc Vinh, Director of Quang Hai Co., Ltd., said many visitors to Hai Phong who have heard about Hai Phong’s OCOP fish sauce products sold on the market want to visit the production facilities themselves. Therefore, the company regularly welcomes groups of visitors to tour the facility and purchase products.

In Nguyen Trai Ward, taking advantage of the abundance of forest flowers, local residents have developed beekeeping, with about 90 households involved. Forest honey products have been recognized as three- and four-star OCOP ones.

Visitors here can not only experience the mountainous landscape but also watch local residents harvest honey and purchase the products as gifts. Cao Van Binh of Giai Residential Area in Nguyen Trai Ward said selling honey to tourists brings higher profits than selling to traders or local residents.

Professionalizing OCOP products

Tang Xuan Tho, Deputy Head of the Hai Phong Sub-department of Rural Development, said that to develop OCOP products in conjunction with tourism, it is necessary to establish cultural facilities, including community houses for cultural exchanges, art performances and OCOP product displays; develop OCOP product display and sales points at hotels, airports and shopping centers; and, in particular, establish “OCOP streets.”

The shift should be made from selling raw OCOP products to a multi-value integrated agricultural economy: turning fruit orchards into service spaces where visitors can harvest and enjoy fruit on site and participate in processing agricultural products; and upgrading OCOP products into distinctive souvenirs with attractive packaging that clearly reflects their origins and local cultural identity.

In particular, digital transformation must be identified as a breakthrough tool for improving the management, production and promotion of OCOP products. In production management, technology should be applied to trace product origins and manage the quality of agricultural products, helping make information more transparent and increase the trust of tourists and consumers.

In commerce, e-commerce should be promoted, with OCOP products placed on digital marketplaces and online supply-demand connections established. To promote destinations offering OCOP product experiences, digital tourism maps should be developed to help visitors explore local culture without requiring a tour guide to accompany them; tourism resources and heritage sites across the city should also be digitized.

HUONG AN