Moc Chau National Tourist Area has been identified as the core area for attracting investment and leading the way in tourism products.

Son La's green growth core

This objective was emphasized in the Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress, term 2025-2030, and has been concretized through strategic planning activities.

The recent workshop "Green and Sustainable Tourism - a Driving Force for the Development of Moc Chau National Tourist Area," organized by the Son La Provincial People's Committee, once again affirmed this development mindset and orientation of the province.

In the new vision, Moc Chau National Tourist Area is identified as the core for attracting investment and leading the way in tourism products, thereby spreading its value to neighboring areas such as Van Ho, Yen Chau, and even the entire province.

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather the result of a long-term accumulation: increasingly convenient transportation, the formation of community-based tourism clusters, the development of agricultural tours, the expansion of festivals and events, and increased media coverage of the flowering and fruiting seasons.

The market has begun to react positively with a steady increase in domestic tourists, and Moc Chau is recognized as a destination with a suitable climate and cultural experiences that has the potential to expand regionally if properly positioned.

Notably, the market perspective has matured, moving beyond simply telling a story of identity and instead focusing on service standards, international operational standards, and customer experience.

From a destination management perspective, the activities of Moc Chau tourism, specifically the Moc Chau ward's "Flower Season Promise" program, which was recently organized, demonstrate a long-term commitment to brand building.

This is an effective approach, using natural seasons, culture, and agriculture as "content pillars" to retain tourists year-round.

Son La's vision in national planning.

Green and sustainable tourism is becoming a strategic development axis for Son La. Within the context of Vietnam's tourism vision for the period 2026-2030, it is foreseeable that product lines associated with green spaces, highland climate, specialty agriculture, and indigenous communities will rise – factors that align with international tourism consumption trends post-Covid-19.

Son La, especially Moc Chau, possesses all the competitive advantages along this axis with a cool and dry climate rarely found in the northern mountainous region. It also has a distinctive agricultural ecosystem with tea, dairy, flowers, and fruit trees.

The diverse ethnic cultural identities, combined with the "gateway" connecting to the Lao border, create favorable conditions for the development of cross-border routes and product chains.

From a broader perspective, green tourism goes beyond simply exploiting nature; it encompasses a circular economy approach, the preservation of indigenous cultures, ensuring community livelihoods, and reducing pressure on resources.

Moc Chau plateau destination has established a good foundation for community tourism, but to enter a new competitive phase, raising standards is essential: service standards, experience design standards, destination management standards, business linkage standards, and market standards.

Building on its foundation of specialty agriculture, Son La has room to expand into emerging product segments such as: agricultural tourism, seasonal experiences, agricultural festivals, farmstays, and flower tourism.

Meanwhile, the location and transportation infrastructure are creating opportunities for caravans and self-driving tours from Hanoi to the northwestern provinces, and even extending to Laos.

With its high altitude and open spaces, Moc Chau is suitable for developing small and medium-scale green MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) events, combining team building, seminars, and cultural and agricultural events. This product group is a global trend due to its reasonable cost, deeply "localized" experience, and minimal pressure on resources.

Furthermore, technology is increasingly playing a leading role in destination management: visitor data, experience maps, digital payments, integrated service booking, environmental management and smart promotion, expanding international market access without disrupting the local cultural and ecological structure.

Son La has the potential to become a model green destination in the northern mountainous region. Photo: VUON XUAN

The Son La Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, has identified tourism as a key economic sector and a safe and attractive destination in the northern mountainous midland region.

Planning economic spaces also opens up a rational product structure: Moc Chau - Van Ho for resorts, community activities, and agriculture; the Da River reservoir for ecology, sports, and yachting; and the border region for cross-border trade and cultural tourism.

It is clear that the provincial planning and the Moc Chau National Tourist Area plan create an important policy framework for Son La to attract long-term investors. This is a key condition because green tourism requires systematic investment in destination infrastructure: transportation, environmental management, vocational skills, products, and visitor data.

The good news is that Son La has shifted from a mindset of "tourism based on natural resources" to a mindset of "tourism based on destination management".

At the national level, policy trends are moving towards supporting green tourism, community tourism, cultural industries, regional linkages, and smart promotion. If they adapt early, Son La - Moc Chau will build sustainable competitiveness and could become a model green destination in the northern mountainous region within the next decade.

MAI CHI; Photo: Son La Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism