Workshop on “Sustainable Tourism Destination Management”.

In Son La province, the GREAT Project Phase 1, implemented from 2017-2022, had a total investment of over 202 billion VND. During this phase, the project, together with its partners, applied many innovative and effective solutions to build and develop market systems in the agricultural and tourism sectors, and to increase the economic empowerment of women, especially ethnic minority women.

In the tourism sector, implemented in Moc Chau district, the project supports the operation of the community tourism model in Ta So village, Chieng Hac commune; supports 17 households providing homestay services in Vat village, Muong Sang commune, in upgrading their community tourism model; and provides technical support for operating the tourist night market in Moc Chau Agricultural Town. Simultaneously, it has developed and published the book "Moc Chau Tourism Handbook," "Community Tourism Development Process," and the website "Ta So Tourism." Training sessions have been organized to improve the knowledge and skills of homestay groups and cultural and artistic groups. The project's models and activities have contributed to promoting community tourism, creating jobs and increasing income for households, contributing to poverty reduction, and boosting the local economy.

Besides the achievements, lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and the experience of the GREAT Project Phase 1 show that investments in community and household tourism carry significant risks if not closely coordinated and linked with other state and private sector investments. Therefore, GREAT Project Phase 2 will focus on creating sustainable opportunities that bring long-term benefits to ethnic minority women in terms of income and stable employment.

The booth displays products from the Bản Áng Tourism Cooperative, Đông Sang commune, Mộc Châu district.

The GREAT 2 project, implemented from 2023-2027, has an investment of over 250 billion VND, including 236 billion VND in non-refundable ODA funds and 1.5 billion VND in counterpart funds from the provincial budget. It is expected to benefit over 15,000 women, 70% of whom are ethnic minority women in Son La province. The project has three main components: developing market systems in the agricultural and tourism sectors; strategies to support access to finance, digital transformation, development of women-owned businesses, and behavioral change communication; and support for policy development, refinement, and implementation.

The first activity of the GREAT Project Phase 2, implemented last September, was the organization of the workshop "Sustainable Tourism Destination Management". At the workshop, delegates including representatives from tourism service businesses and cooperatives, representatives from provincial state management agencies in tourism and agriculture, lecturers from the Tourism and Entrepreneurship ngành, the Institute of Business Administration, VinUniversity, and representatives from Clickable Co., Ltd. shared experiences in building effective destination management models and developing sustainable tourism. These included enhancing the effectiveness of tourism investment through linkages between businesses and local communities, and between the tourism and agricultural sectors; and establishing three basic pillars for sustainable community tourism development: environmental protection; respect for local communities; and creating equitable economic benefits. Simultaneously, the workshop emphasized strengthening connections between tourism routes and destinations. This helps to enhance community capacity, as community-based tourism villages often lack the ability to design and operate tourism and accommodation services, and therefore require practical guidance from tourism experts in these projects.

Folk art program of the ethnic groups in Ngoc Chien commune, Muong La district.

With 12 recognized tourist areas and destinations, including the Moc Chau National Tourist Area and the Son La hydroelectric reservoir area, which are planned as part of the national tourism system for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the province's tourism has been affirmed on the Vietnamese tourism map. In recent years, Son La has welcomed an average of 5 million tourists annually, generating nearly 6,000 billion VND in revenue, with a growth rate of 13% per year. The specific goals, roadmap, and target groups of the GREAT 2 project, which has been and is being implemented, will contribute to changing mindsets and strengthening coordination and close links between state management agencies and businesses and cooperatives. From there, difficulties will gradually be overcome, promoting the development of local tourism and attracting more domestic and international tourists.

Source: Son La Newspaper