Unlike conventional tours of Da Lat that feature local sights and culinary delights, recently popular farming tours provide visitors with first-hand farming experience.

Da Lat, the city of flowers, in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, is home to a large number of flower and vegetable farms. Several of them have recently allowed tourists, particularly younger ones, to engage first-hand in many of their production phases.

According to Le Kim Phuc, of local tour company TAT Co., these farming tours are in answer to the requests of many younger tourists.

“Brief visits to flower and vegetables farms failed to satisfy the curiosity of these young people. They expressed a desire to become involved in all farming phases to better appreciate the fruits of the farmers’ labors,” Phuc said.

At Mai Van Khan’s 10-hectare farm, deep inside Hon Bo -- a new flower and vegetable growing zone of Thai Phien flower village--a plot of land sits empty, filled with weeds. Thirty young tourists, who will act as farmers for a day, are first assigned with weeding the plot.

After a demonstration from Khan, the farm owner, the tourists clumsily hoe the soil to remove the weeds before watering and pruning the plants. They are soaked in sweat, but bursting with laughter, especially while picking and cooking the vegetables themselves.

Meanwhile, on the flower farms, tourists are required to completely concentrate on farming, rather than taking photos, to fully appreciate the work that goes into growing flowers.

Then the group is guided into the Thai Phien flower village’s largest laboratory, where new breeds of flowers are created.

Farm owner Khan has cooperated with several tour providers in Da Lat to offer such farming tours.

“With these tours, our production phases are slightly out of order, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives. We can sell our flowers and vegetables in our farms at retail prices, and sometimes receive large orders from the tourists after they work on the farm. It’s a great way to promote our products and our sales have risen considerably,” Khan noted.

According to Phuc of TAT Co., sales have risen considerably for local tour providers. The amount of young people who wish to seek real-life farming experience has most notably increased.

“As tourists stay in locals’ homes or in tents on the farms, accommodation costs will be cut. The extra money will be given to the farm owners to pay for the damage to the plants or soil inadvertently caused by tourists,” he stressed.

Such tours offered by Da Lat Discovery Co. and TAT Co. currently cost some VND900,000-1.4million (up to US$67) per person for a group of more than 10, depending on the location of the farms and tourists’ requests.

These tours appeal mostly to foreign backpackers, local students, and those under 30 years visiting from larger cities.