Many impressive tourism models

We arrived at Kha village, Sapp Vat commune, Yen Chau district (Son La province), a place with beautiful scenery, shaded by ancient mango and tamarind trees, and the winding Vat stream. Kha village has a total natural area of ​​435 hectares, with 92 households and 425 inhabitants, 99% of whom are ethnic Thai people.

Developing tourism while preserving traditional crafts.

Currently, about 90% of the households in Kha village still maintain their traditional stilt houses; these households continue to preserve and promote unique cultural features, such as the Dong Sua Festival, folk singing, and musical instrument performances.nationMaintaining traditional crafts such as weaving and embroidering scarves, and basket weaving for daily use, Kha village in Sapp Vat commune, Yen Chau district, has been selected by the district to develop into a tourist village. The tourism product development plan, spanning five years with a total investment of approximately 43.2 billion VND, focuses on key components such as: a village entrance gate; a visitor reception area at the parking lot; environmentally friendly parking and electric shuttle services for tourists; sales points and experiential activities; developing an experiential tour route; improving the village landscape; and constructing restrooms.

Along with Bản Khá, many other localities in Sơn La have also been promoting local tourism development linked to the preservation of the culture of ethnic minority communities. Leveraging its advantages as a mountainous province in the Northwest, situated at an average altitude of 600-700m above sea level, with hilly terrain and the Mã and Đà rivers flowing through it, creating an attractive natural landscape. In addition,Son LaSon La is also home to 12 ethnic groups, with their traditional cultures, historical and cultural relics, and revolutionary historical sites... creating an attraction that draws tourists to Son La for relaxation, experiences, adventurous adventures, or to learn about the culture of ethnic minorities.

To promote the development of community-based tourism in the province, the Son La Provincial People's Council issued Resolution 22/2016/NQ-HĐND dated December 14, 2016, on policies to support the development of community-based tourism in the province until 2020; and Resolution 41/2022/NQ-HĐND dated August 31, 2022, on supporting the development of community-based tourism in the period 2022-2026.

Accordingly, Son La province has supported the implementation of many training courses on tourism skills; supported the construction of 6 community tourism villages; supported 31 households in running homestays for community tourism in the villages; and supported 2 homestays with low-interest loans totaling 750 million VND.

The province has also issued plans to innovate and improve the quality and efficiency of museum operations in conjunction with tourism development; and developed projects related to tourism development such as: the project to develop community tourism villages in Chieng Di village, Van Ho commune; "Research and development of a typical model for green tourism development in Moc Chau national tourist area"; and "Research and development of a model".tourism"Sustainable development of the Son La Hydropower Reservoir area." Implementing the Project "Preserving and promoting the value of folk songs, folk dances, and folk music of ethnic minorities in Son La province in conjunction with tourism development."

Thanks to the focus on investing in tourism development, Son La now has 5 tourist areas and destinations that have been recognized as meeting the conditions and criteria stipulated by the Tourism Law. The entire province of Son La currently has a total of 626 tourist accommodation establishments, including 29 hotels and resorts that have been star-rated, and 89 establishments that meet the requirements to serve tourists.

According to the Son La Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in the first six months of 2024, Son La's tourism sector continued to experience impressive growth, achieving many positive results. The total number of visitors to Son La reached 2,973,000, equivalent to 61.9% of the plan, and revenue was estimated at approximately 3,560 billion VND, equivalent to 64.7% of the plan.

People's lives have changed.

Investing in tourism has been bringing a better life to the local ethnic minority people. Mr. Vi Van Khe, owner of Son Khe homestay in Mong village, Hua La commune, Son La city, said: "Previously, my family mainly relied on income from 24 mineral bath rooms and health-restoring soaking pools, earning an average of about 40 million VND per month. In 2018, after investing 1.6 billion VND to build a stilt house in the traditional Thai architectural style to run a homestay business, the family also received 45 million VND in support from the city to renovate public toilets and purchase beds, blankets, and mattresses. In addition to the mineral spring bathing service, the family also provides additional services such as accommodation, food, and organizes traditional dances and pole dancing to diversify the cultural experiences of the Thai ethnic minority, doubling the family's revenue and significantly improving their lives."

Linking tourism with the preservation and promotion of the unique cultural characteristics of ethnic groups, and creating jobs for local workers.

Ms. Vi Thi Thiem from Kha village, Sapp Vat commune, Yen Chau district, Son La province shared: "To contribute to building a tourist village and creating a green, clean, and beautiful landscape, my family still maintains the traditional stilt house and does not cut down the ancient mango trees. In addition, we encourage and motivate young children to participate in training classes on traditional embroidery and weaving, and so far 30 mother-child pairs have participated. We plant flowers along the fences bordering the roads leading into the village to create a beautiful landscape. Thanks to this, the number of tourists visiting Kha village is increasing."

Based on the results achieved so far, Son La province aims to welcome approximately 5.2 million tourists by 2025, including about 500,000 international visitors, with total revenue from tourism services estimated at 5,800 billion VND.

The focus will be on developing tourism in conjunction with agricultural and rural development and the national target program for new rural development. At the same time, through the development of community tourism, we will contribute to protecting environmental resources, preserving and promoting the unique cultural characteristics of ethnic groups, creating jobs for local workers, and promoting sustainable socio-economic development.

In addition, Son La province also focuses on implementing national target programs, especially the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2030, phase I from 2021-2025; at the same time, it leverages resources from national target programs to support the development of various types of tourism, including community-based tourism, linking tourism development with the preservation of cultural identity and sustainable livelihoods for ethnic minorities.

Source: Industry and Trade Newspaper