My home country is Vietnam - a land which has a heroic history, a unique culture and is full of hospitable people.
According to a recent travel survey, Vietnam ranked 10th among the World’s top 20 countries to visit in 2020. Undoubtedly, tourism is an important pillar of the country’s economic development, contributing significantly to Vietnam’s GDP. In joining Google’s Local Guides Program, I take pride in adding missing places and writing helpful reviews that may potentially help tourists select their preferred places in Vietnam to more easily visit and explore. If you’ve already been to Vietnam, you may have seen the funky but almost hidden coffee shops and restaurants. For example, you may have gone down the small quiet alleyways, and climbed up to the 2nd floor of a community house? You may also have been quite surprised to find how large it was inside when you arrived at the door and when you entered you saw it was full of locals sitting there enjoying g themselves and you wondered how they found it. So, a helpful review shouldn’t miss that mark.
I still remember one time my friend asked me “ why do you have to write a review for a place that already has a thousand reviews?” That question led me to a perspective I had not thought of before. Tons of reviews do not decide whether a place is good or not. The ratio between positive and negative feedback is also important as well as the time of the reviewer’s last visit. Was it one week ago? Or perhaps one month or even one year ago? And were there some pluses and minuses which are repeated among the reviews? To be cool and relevant Google local reviewer be an enthusiastic guide but also, a smart visitor.
To me, the Local Guides program is not only a goodwill gesture but also assists me to grow personally. Previously I rarely paid attention to details around things. However, since I started the Local Guides Program, I’ve learned the importance of focussing on many aspects so as to describe in detail the place and look for ways to improve it.
I used to be a customer who came and left without saying much. But since activating the Local Guides community, I’ve become much more social. If I like a place, I compliment the staff and tell them I will introduce it to my friends and write them a nice review. If I’m not happy with the service, I’ll send them direct feedback with the hope that it will be better the next time I visit. I often become friends with some of the staff and owners of some coffee shops and restaurants I visit.
Now the Local Guides Program has become my travel diary where I look back again and again over my journeys and experiences which contains the photos and reviews on my google map. Where I did go? What I did eat? Who was I with? I have also saved lists of where I want to go next time. So, whenever I open my contributions page, it feels like it’s both my home and also my next horizon. The more google map contributions I make, the more complete my travel lists become. The more likes I receive from other fellows, the more connections I feel and recognition I get We share the same feelings in that experience and we try to express the appreciation we have for each other.
Being a local guide is so meaningful and wonderful to me. I’m very grateful to be part of the Local Guide Program and I will continue bringing value to the community and my personal development. Thank you, Google for building a super cool platform for us to be ourselves - we raise our voice and feel free to be creative; be with others - we share the passion and the responsibility to make the world more beautiful. Thank you, Google Local guides because you’re here.
