United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is developing a project to promote Vietnamese traditional handicrafts at five World Heritage sites in Vietnam.
"Vietnam has five World Heritage sites, all of which are good places to sell locally made traditional handicrafts," said Tran Nhat Ly of UNESCO’s Vietnam Committee.
The five sites are Halong Bay, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Complex of Hue Monuments, Hoi An Ancient Town and My Son Sanctuary.
In Hue, only 20% of souvenirs are made in the area, with the remaining coming from Danang, HCMC, Hanoi and China.
The products are often sold without brandnames, names of producers or artisans, or product descriptions.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Cham, member of a group of project researchers, said the traditional handicraft industry in the four provinces in which the heritage sites were located faced problems, including outdated production technology.
Provincial development plans often don’t include the handicraft industry and management is not unifed, Cham said.