Announcing the Hanoi - Son La City - Quynh Nhai - Thuan Chau tour product.

   Add new tours and travel routes.

Son La is located in the central Northwest region of Vietnam, 300 km from Hanoi via National Highway 6. Twelve ethnic groups live together in the province, bordering Hoa Binh, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Dien Bien, and Thanh Hoa, and sharing a border with the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Along with this, Son La possesses rich and diverse tourism resources, especially unique natural and cultural resources, representing significant potential to attract tourists.

In the first three months of 2024, Son La tourism achieved significant results, with a total of 1,360,000 visitors, including over 3,100 international tourists, and a revenue of approximately 1,500 billion VND. These achievements were largely attributed to the efforts of the Provincial Tourism Association and the Tourism Associations of districts and cities in promoting tourism, signing new tours and routes.

The first significant activity in tourism promotion and marketing was the VITM International Tourism Fair 2024, held in early April in Hanoi. At this fair, the Tourism Associations of Thai Binh and Son La provinces discussed and agreed to collaborate on opening an international tourism route connecting Thai Binh, Moc Chau, and Sam Neua. This route was officially launched at the end of April at the Long Sap National Border Gate in Moc Chau district. The tour operator is the Vietnam-Laos International Tourism Company of Thai Binh province, a travel agency with many years of experience in welcoming tourists from Thai Binh and other provinces in the Northern Coastal region to visit the provinces of Laos.

Mr. Vu Manh Thang, Chairman of the Thai Binh Provincial Tourism Association and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam-Laos International Tourism Company, shared: Since launching the tour, the company has organized three tour groups from Xieng Khouang province through Hua Phan province (Lao People's Democratic Republic) and into Vietnam through the Long Sap national border gate in Moc Chau district. Upon arriving in Moc Chau, the groups continued to visit tourist areas and attractions in the area. The tourists all enjoyed the destinations and were satisfied with the tour.

The Thai Binh - Moc Chau - Sam Neua international tourist route welcomed its first group of tourists to Moc Chau.
Photo by Nguyen Thu (Contributor).

Also in April, the Son La Provincial Tourism Association, in coordination with the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Tourism Association, organized a conference to promote and sign an agreement on cooperation and development of tourism. Ba Ria - Vung Tau province is one of the major tourism centers in the country, ranking among the top in attracting tourists, with rich and diverse tourism resources, both natural and cultural, encompassing basic types of tourism: beach and island resort tourism, entertainment, ecotourism, community tourism, conference and seminar tourism, etc. At the conference, the Tourism Associations of the two provinces signed an agreement on cooperation and development of tourism.

Previously, within the framework of the "Son La - Hua Phan Cultural Tourism Festival" in 2024 held in Sam Neua town, Hua Phan province (Lao People's Democratic Republic), tourism businesses from Son La province, Hua Phan province, and the Hanoi UNESCO Club signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in selling tourism products, forming a new Hanoi - Son La - Hua Phan tour, creating more opportunities for Vietnamese and Lao tourists to visit and experience.

Mr. Hoang Chi Thuc, Chairman of the Son La Provincial Tourism Association, said: "The signing of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in selling tourism products and forming new tours between Son La and provinces and cities in Vietnam and abroad is the result of the province's and the Association's efforts, contributing to promoting tourism and attracting more and more domestic and international tourists to Son La. Through this approach, more and more new tours and routes are being formed."

Infinity koi pond at Dai Yem Waterfall, Pha Luong Moc Chau Tourism Joint Stock Company.

Improving the quality of human resources.

To attract tourists to areas and destinations, many units have invested in and developed new tourism products, focusing on improving product quality in a unique way, based on exploiting the potential advantages of the region. However, tourism development requires a large workforce, which plays a decisive role in the quality of tourism services.

Mr. Hoang Chi Thuc, Chairman of the Provincial Tourism Association, informed: Following the province's directive, the Association has played a bridging and representative role, supporting members in participating in training courses organized by the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, such as: teaching the decoration of patterns on the traditional clothing of the Dao Tien people to help preserve and promote ethnic cultural identity; training in tourism professional skills at the Moc Chau National Tourist Area; and organizing members to participate in training on fire prevention and control and digital transformation. In addition, businesses and cooperatives proactively and actively recruit and send staff and tour guides to participate in specialized training courses and to learn practical experience at large restaurants, hotels, and tourist areas nationwide, enhancing professionalism.

Thanks to the province's support and favorable conditions, and the efforts of the Association and its members, by early 2024, the province had over 5,000 direct employees in the tourism sector, of which 55% had received training. The number of tour guides increased both in quantity and quality. Moc Chau National Tourist Area alone has over 40 tour guides who regularly receive professional training. However, the province's tourism workforce still lacks sufficient numbers, and expertise and professional skills in many areas are not yet highly developed.

Suoi Hen Vuon Dao is a professional event center in Son La city.

To make Son La tourism increasingly attractive to domestic and international tourists, the Provincial Tourism Association continues to coordinate with departments, agencies, and the People's Committees of districts and cities to strengthen communication and promotion, build the image and brand of tourism, research, develop, and perfect new, typical, and unique tourism products, creating attractiveness, striving to welcome 4.8 million tourists in 2024, and achieving tourism revenue of 5,500 billion VND. In particular, it aims to promote the brand of Moc Chau National Tourist Area as a "Leading Regional Natural Destination in the World," promote digital transformation, apply smart tourism, create new tour packages, and develop additional domestic and international markets.

Minh Thu

Connecting to build the Son La tourism brand (baosonla.org.vn)