Abstract

This article investigates the potential and current state of cultural tourism development associated with Go Thap Festival, a representative belief-based cultural practice of Dong Thap Province held annually at the Go Thap Special National Relic Site. Drawing on document analysis and secondary-data synthesis within a cultural- studies approach, the study clarifies the multi-layered value system embedded in the festival, encompassing archaeological, historical-revolutionary, folk-religious, community-cohesion, and ecological-landscape values. Findings indicate that since the Via Ba Chua Xu Go Thap Festival and the Commemoration of Thien Ho Vo Duy Duong and Doc Binh Nguyen Tan Kieu were inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Go Thap has gained a stronger foundation to establish itself as a distinctive cultural-tourism destination in the Dong Thap Muoi region.

Keywords: Cultural tourism; Go Thap; traditional festival; intangible cultural heritage; Dong Thap.