Lào Cai develops new tourism products to meet trends

Tả Van Commune in Sa Pa town is well-known for community-based tourism villages that draw numerous tourists. VNA photo

LÀO CAI – The northern mountainous province of Lào Cai has made use of its strengths to develop new tourism products that meet tourists’ travel trend.

One of the new products that have drawn a large number of visitors recently is farmstay which allows tourists to join locals in agricultural activities such as growing vegetables or raising fish and livestock, and harvesting and using their products to cook meals.

Tả Van commune in Sa Pa town is well-known for community-based tourism villages that draw numerous tourists. Grasping tourists' needs, many local homestay service providers have used their agricultural production area to create unforgettable experiences for visitors.

Hòang Hiền, the owner of Lúa homestay, said that she found that visitors are particularly interested in experiencing the local life.

From May, foreign tourists come and plant rice in terraced fields with local residents. After a working day, they have dinners with the locals. In August and September, the tourists are offered to harvest rice, ride buffalos and bathe in streams.

Ricard, a French tourist, said visitors want to have such experiences, enjoying locals' daily lives in places where they come, not simply taking photos.

Meanwhile, visiting a farm stay model in Bát Xát District, visitors not only relax and participate in daily activities with local residents but also pick and collect herbal medicinal plants, to the field. They also have a chance to join in preparing traditional meals with local residents in the community house of the Red Dao Phìn Ngan.

Thanks to the massive forest area, the farm stay tourism model is booming in Lào Cai, generating twin benefits, helping increase income for locals, and promoting a sustainable environment. To expand agrotourism, Lào Cai has worked to connect tourists and destinations by organising events and farm trips for travel firms and media agencies.

Besides, it is developing many other tourism products in association with the promotion of the cultural identities of local ethnic minority groups.

At the same time, Lào Cai has strengthened coordination with domestic and foreign localities such as Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, Yunnan (China), and Nouvelle Aquitaine region (France) to promote its tourism sector.

The Lào Cai Department of Tourism planned to organise a number of large-scale events to lure visitors in the coming time, such as Bắc Hà White Plateau Festival, Rose and Love Festival, Triathlon tournament in Bắc Hà, Sa Pa Snow Festival, and international tourism fair 2024.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, in the first half of 2024, the province earned VNĐ13.5 trillion (US$531.18 million) from tourism services, a year-on-year surge of 24 per cent.

The locality welcomed more than 4.1 million visitors, fulfilling 48.67 per cent of its plan for the whole year.

Sa Pa town, honoured by Tripadvisor as one of the top five Trending Destinations in the world in 2024, remained Lào Cai's key destination with nearly 2 million visitors accommodated in the first half of this year.

This year, Lào Cai targets to attract 8.5 million visitors with tourism revenue of over VNĐ27 trillion.