Peaceful Ta So village, Chieng Hac commune, Moc Chau district, Son La province. Photo: Phuong Lien

Ta So Community Tourism Village in Chieng Hac Commune is likened to a plateau on the Moc Chau plateau in Son La Province. It's becoming an emerging tourist destination, attracting visitors with its majestic natural beauty and the unique cultural identity of nearly 200 households and 1,200 Mong ethnic people. Despite enduring many ups and downs throughout history, the Mong people here have preserved their original, unique cultural traditions and customs. Ta So Village also impresses visitors with the diligence and creativity of its Mong people, who have created magnificent terraced rice fields, pristine white plum blossom gardens in spring, and traditional rammed-earth houses.

Like many other rural areas, the Hmong people in Ta So used to rely solely on the plum harvest for their livelihood. Now, things are different. The same plum trees no longer serve only the purpose of producing fruit. Experiencing the plum blossom season in spring has become an exciting tourist attraction. Ta So offers visitors unforgettable experiences: getting lost amidst the plum blossoms, sitting at a loom, embroidering traditional Hmong products, enjoying Hmong cuisine, and sleeping in a traditional earthen house. Mua A Hang, a resident of Ta So village, happily shared that when tourists visit, the villagers can utilize their free time during the agricultural off-season to increase their income. Therefore, everyone wants to contribute to preserving the natural beauty and traditional culture of the Hmong people to attract more tourists to the village.

Ta So Village is one of approximately 300 community-based tourism villages in Vietnam – according to estimates from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Vietnam also has about 5,000 homestays. Most of these tourism villages and homestays are located in ethnic minority and mountainous areas – regions with some of the richest community-based tourism resources in the country. Community-based tourism is a type of tourism based on community resources, with the community actively participating in product development and management, and for the benefit of the community. According to a study by Dr. Tran Huu Son, Director of the Institute for Applied Folklore Studies, community-based tourism has contributed to poverty reduction and created new livelihoods for people in mountainous areas. In community-based tourism destinations in Sa Pa (Lao Cai), the rate of poverty reduction is three times faster than in villages without tourism.

Unique ethnic cultural identity is a very important factor for tourism development (In the photo: The embroidery shoe-making craft of the Xa Phang people in Then Pa village, Sa Long commune, Muong Cha district, Dien Bien province). Photo: Phuong Lien

Discussing the experience of preserving and promoting the value of traditional cultural heritage associated with tourism development in Lao Cai province, Ms. Giang Thi Dung, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said that with the motto of using ethnic culture as the foundation and guiding principle for creating strengths and tourism products, and at the same time, linking tourism exploitation with the preservation of the culture of ethnic minorities to attract tourists, since 1998, based on the pilot implementation of two community tourism models associated with poverty reduction in Ban Den village, Ban Ho commune and Cat Cat village, San Sa Ho commune (Sa Pa), the province has expanded the community tourism model to other localities and is a pioneer in introducing the initiative of "transforming heritage into assets".

In addition, Lao Cai province is actively preserving the cultural space of typical ancient villages such as Cat Cat village of the Mong people in San Sa Ho; Sa Chen village of the Red Dao people in Ta Phin commune; Ban Den village of the Tay people in Ban Ho commune; Trung Do village of the Tay people in Bao Nhai commune, Bac Ha district; and the traditional cultural village of the Ha Nhin people in Choan Then village, Y Ty commune, Bat Xat district. Lao Cai's innovative approach is based on exploiting the strengths of cultural tourism and scenic landscapes to create unique and high-quality tourism products.

"Despite the potential and benefits, the current issue is that the majority of people are engaged in tourism spontaneously, so standardized training in knowledge and skills for providing tourism services, communication attitudes, and measures to ensure security and safety for tourists is urgently needed," said Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the National Tourism Administration, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Developing community-based tourism in ethnic minority areas is a crucial driving force for building new rural areas and contributing to socio-economic development. However, sustainable community-based tourism development requires localities to leverage the cultural identity of ethnic groups to create unique tourism products that are tailored to each region, carefully planned, and attractive to specific tourist groups. No one else but the ethnic minority communities themselves have the responsibility to preserve their cultural identity, as this is a potential asset for tourism development – ​​according to Ms. Le Thi Thanh Hoa, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Community Tourism Association.

To put it simply, the people must preserve traditional crafts, safeguard intangible cultural heritage such as cuisine, folk art, folk games, folk beliefs, as well as beautiful natural landscapes and unique ethnic architecture. In addition, they need to research and develop experiential programs such as stream fishing competitions, net casting, pond fishing, participating in brocade weaving, and food preparation... to create unique and distinctive products that will attract and retain tourists to their villages, thereby generating income for themselves. For sustainable tourism development, it is necessary to preserve and promote the value of traditional cultural heritage and to have the active participation of ethnic minority communities.

Source: bienphong.com.vn