Son La province is always striving to equip and enhance the capacity and knowledge of destination management, and share tourism development experiences with tourism businesses and cooperatives.
In recent years, Son La province has focused on building an effective destination management model, developing sustainable tourism, and enhancing the effectiveness of tourism investment through the connection between businesses and local communities; strengthening the linkage between the tourism and agricultural sectors to develop responsible tourism products.
Many foreign and domestic experts have raised concerns about the current state of management and development orientation of tourism destinations in Son La province.
At the recent workshop on "Sustainable Tourism Destination Management," organized by the Son La Provincial Department of Planning and Investment in collaboration with the Cowater International representative office (Great Project Management Consultant), numerous domestic and international experts presented the current state of tourism destination management and development orientations in Son La province. They also discussed and shared challenges and proposed solutions to enhance sustainable destination management. Most experts emphasized strengthening the participation of local businesses in the tourism development planning process. They particularly stressed the importance of developing responsible tourism products, preserving cultural values, protecting the environment, and fostering collaboration between the agricultural and tourism sectors.
Lush green tea hills in the Moc Chau plateau
Notably, at the event, representatives from relevant departments of Son La province and experts discussed and identified core tourism products and unique selling points in the two pilot districts of Moc Chau and Muong La; reviewed and evaluated the current investment planning process; and recommended attracting ethnic minority women to participate in investment planning in both the public and private sectors.
According to Mr. Tran Xuan Viet, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Son La province, in order to achieve high results in sustainable tourism destination management, Son La province always strives to equip and improve the capacity and knowledge of destination management, and share tourism development experiences of tourism businesses and cooperatives.
At the same time, over the years, Son La has actively strengthened its exchange and cooperation relationships with domestic and international localities, bringing Son La province's tourism to a new level of development and increasingly attracting domestic and foreign tourists to visit and experience.
Implementing the 2024 tourism development plan, as of September, Son La province has achieved two targets: Moc Chau National Tourist Area has been recognized as a National Tourist Area; and the Son La hydroelectric reservoir area has been included in the national tourism system plan for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. Targets for tourist arrivals and tourism revenue are close to being met, with approximately 3,873,000 tourists and estimated revenue of 4,565 billion VND.
Furthermore, regarding tourism development orientation, Son La province has planned tourism development encompassing 5 tourism products: ecotourism and agricultural tourism; cultural and historical tourism; community tourism; resort, entertainment and health tourism; and thematic tourism (festivals, sports, adventure, etc.).