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Tourists come to Quang Binh to experience 'duck massage'

After a trip to Phong Nha in June 2024, German digital nomad Esteban Zanelli shared a photo of himself sitting among the ducks and said he had a “silly but extremely relaxing experience” at a farm called The Duck Stop. He hand-fed the ducks and had them give him a beak massage.

While feeding a flock of more than 100 ducks, Eva from Germany never forgot the feeling of the whole flock rushing at her to perform a strange but memorable beak massage.

After a trip to Phong Nha in June 2024, German digital nomad Esteban Zanelli shared a photo of himself sitting among the ducks and said he had "a silly but extremely relaxing experience" at a farm called The Duck Stop. He personally fed the ducks and was given a beak massage by them.

Eva, a German tourist, traveled to Phong Nha, Quang Binh last September and visited this farm at the recommendation of a travel blogger. The entrance fee is about 150,000 VND and Eva said it was an "unforgettable" experience when she was first surrounded by more than 100 ducks. When she spread food around her feet, the whole flock of ducks would rush in, creating a "strange but memorable" massage experience, according to Eva.

The Duck Stop model was introduced by The New York Times in 2019 as "a budget travel experience that attracts Western backpackers". Visitors to The Duck Stop do the work of farmers such as raising ducks, feeding ducks, herding buffaloes and paying their owners.

Fran Lavish, a British tourist, also visited this farm in June last year after watching some videos on social media. As an animal lover, Fran knew this was something she had to try when she had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam.

"You definitely won't find a similar experience anywhere else," Fran said.

What she likes best is holding a box of food and the whole flock of ducks will run after her like an army. When Fran raises her hand, they all raise their heads and when she lowers her hand, they also bow. Fran said she feels like a general commanding an army of ducks. According to British tourists, these authentic and intimate experiences will attract many international tourists, especially from developed countries where countryside scenes are rare.

According to the Quang Binh Provincial Tourism Promotion Center, The Duck Stop is one of the outstanding community tourism models, implemented by individuals or households, associated with agricultural activities and life experiences. The unit assessed that this model received great attention from both international and domestic visitors.

Developing rural tourism is also an important goal set by the Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee in the period from 2021 to 2025. The locality encourages households, individuals, and communities to participate, introducing products with regional characteristics, with experiences, and catching up with tourists' tastes.

In recent years, the rural tourism model has been welcomed by many international visitors. Many long-time tour guides revealed that international visitors, especially high-end visitors, are interested in products rich in experiences, immersing themselves in the lives of local people.

Therefore, in many localities such as Ninh Binh, Quang Binh, Hoi An, tourism models such as herding buffalo, farming, going to the market and cooking are appearing more and more. Recently, some tour guides have also created strange tours such as visiting pregnant women, working as construction workers or visiting cemeteries.