Even without elephant rides, Buon Don still attracts tourists

There is great potential for tourism development

Buon Don commune is famous for its beautiful, pristine natural landscapes such as: the dry dipterocarp forest ecosystem of Yok Don National Park; The scenic spots along the Serepok River feature ancient banyan trees, including a Bodhi tree recognized as a heritage tree; beautiful and relatively intact waterfronts (such as Buon Nieng waterfront, Buon Yang Lanh waterfront, Tha Luong waterfront, Bay Rong waterfront,...).

Buon Don is also famous for its tradition of hunting and taming wild elephants; it has many impressive festivals for tourists such as: the buffalo sacrifice ceremony, the funeral ceremony, the gong festival, the elephant festival; and many unique architectural features such as: ancient stilt houses, the tomb of the “Elephant King” and tomb statues...

Buon Don is part of the Gong Culture Space, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity; there are traditional folk songs and dances of the local ethnic minorities such as Ayray singing, storytelling, playing the Dinh Nam and Dinh Puot flutes, crafting traditional musical instruments, along with performances of the dan tinh (a type of stringed instrument) and Then singing by the Tay and Nung people who migrated from the North (Vietnam).

In the Buon Don tourist area, there are still nearly a dozen elephants, all around 40 years old. They are the most important part of elephant-watching tourism, not to mention related services such as: Visiting the tomb of “Elephant King” Khunjunob; Visiting the more than 140-year-old stilt house of Y Thu Knul - known as the founder of elephant hunting, who contributed to the development and establishment of the Buon Don region. This is also the home of Ama Kông, the grandson of the “Elephant King” and the last descendant of the elephant hunting tradition in Buon Don. With these strengths, Buon Don welcomes between 200,000 and 300,000 tourists annually.

Leveraging the strengths of cultural tourism

Buon Don tourism is a long-standing, famous brand that has made its mark on the world tourism map. Previously, the most important factor in building that brand was the unique elephant riding across the Serepok River. However, in an effort to reduce activities that negatively impact the health and reproduction of these animals, since the end of 2021, Dak Lak province and Animals Asia have agreed to gradually phase out elephant riding as a tourism product. In light of the new situation, the factor that has the potential to create unique and attractive tourism products for Buon Don is the cultural identity of the ethnic minority people living in the villages of Yang Lanh and Tri B.

Buon Yang Lanh has been selected by Dak Lak province to invest in the development of a homestay tourism model under a project funded by the Asian Development Bank. This is where the E-de ethnic minority people live in concentrated settlements, with 15 beautiful stilt houses available for tourists to stay in. The project has supported the restoration and development of traditional crafts of the ethnic minorities such as: brocade weaving, basket weaving, musical instrument making, rice wine making, and building performing arts groups… In addition, the local government also supports people in producing traditional handicrafts; Renovating and constructing access roads to and from the water landings, guiding villages to restore and maintain the water landing rituals to serve tourists visiting and learning about the area; Restoring, preserving and promoting the value of ancient architectural works such as: the tomb of “Elephant King” Khunjunob, the ancient stilt houses of the “Elephant Kings” and developing activities such as: watching elephant performances, playing games with elephants...

Cultural tourism is a new type of tourism in Buon Don. Therefore, it needs the attention of all levels of government and the support of the local ethnic minority people to develop sustainably. In this context, ethnic minorities must be at the center and should be given the opportunity to have stable livelihoods based on their unique cultural identity. In recent years, Buon Don has successfully tapped into the Russian market by partnering with travel companies in Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa province). At the same time, we are actively promoting, connecting with, and attracting more tourists from markets such as Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand… to further develop the tourism industry and make a worthy contribution to the socio-economic development of the locality./.