The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has taken measures to develop sustainable tourism, focusing on cultural resources of the local ethnic minority groups of J’rai and Bahnar.
Covering an area of over 15,500 15,500 km2, Gia Lai is home to 1.4 million people. The ethnic minority groups account for 46 percent of the locality’s population, including 30 percent of J’rai and 13 percent of Bahnar.
The two ethnic groups possess intangible and tangible cultural heritages which are in the national culture list. Particularly, the Space of the Gong Culture was recognised by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage of humanity. As many as 6,000 sets of gong, including ancient and rare ones, have been preserved by both ethnic communities.
In addition, the province also boasts 17 cultural - historical relics which reflect the inception, development, and revolutionary history of the locality, namely Ploi Oi relic, Stor resistance village, Bang Keng Temple Relic, among others.
In 2014, local authorities discovered a number of ancient stone relics in An Khe region with valuable antiques, naming An Khe on the regional and global map of ancient stone era.
Nguyen Thi Kim Van, Director of Gia Lai Museum, said it is possible to operate cultural heritage tours for domestic and foreign visitors based on the local culture resources.
The locality will also launch tours exploring jungles of Kon Ka King and Kon Jrang or tours of volcano vestiges, she added.