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| A flag-raising ceremony on top of Fansipan Mount, the “roof of Indochina” __Photo: VNA |
Sa Pa national tourism zone in Sa Pa town of Lao Cai province will be developed into an international-standard national leisure tourism center with complete and modern infrastructure facilities and services and diverse, unique, high-quality, friendly and attractive tourist products.
Located about 330 kilometers northwest of Hanoi, and 1,600 meters above the sea level with the average temperature of 15-18 degrees Celsius, Sa Pa was recognized as a national tourism zone in 2017. The town is among few locations in Vietnam where snow and frost now and then appear in the winter. It is famous for its breathtaking landscapes such as O Quy Ho pass - the longest, most dangerous and majestic mountain pass in Vietnam’s northwest; the UNESCO-recognized Hoang Lien Son National Park which is home to 346 bird species, 50 amphibian species, 63 reptile species, 107 insect species, and 2,847 plant species. Other famous places include Fansipan peak, which stands at 3,147 meters above the sea level and is dubbed as the roof of Indochina and accessible by the Guinness World Record-setting cable car system 365 days a year; and terraced fields - national relic sites in Lao Chai, Ta Van and Hau Thao communes.
It is also home to Kinh and H’Mong, Dao, Tay, Giay and Xa Pho ethnic groups. Their unique traditional festivals such as the gau tao (traditional new year festival of the H’Mong), roong poọc (farming ritual of the Giay), long tong (unique farming ritual of the Tay) and put tong (ancestral worshipping ritual of the Dao) are usually demonstrated at their villages, offering visitors a glimpse into their culture.
Sa Pa town has been ranked among top five trending destinations worldwide by the world’s largest travel platform Tripadvisor and ranked sixth in a top ten list of the most attractive destinations in Southeast Asia by UK travel publisher Rough Guides. It has earned a spot in the list of “Most Beautiful Small Towns in the World” by the British magazine Time Out. Its terraced rice fields have been listed among the seven most beautiful and spectacular terraces in Asia by US Travel + Leisure Magazine.
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| Terraced fields in Sa Pa town__Photo: VNA |
“To build Sa Pa town into a tourism brand of not only Vietnam but also the world, it is crucial to protect and preserve natural landscape’s core values and ethnic groups’ cultural identity and develop unique, friendly, high-quality and attractive tourism products,” suggested Assoc. Prof. Bui Hoai Son, permanent member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture and Education.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu Quoc Tri emphasized the necessity for Sa Pa town to develop tourism in a sustainable manner, create a civilized and friendly environment and bring economic benefits to the locals. Sa Pa town must also conduct surveys of tourist demands in order to provide tourist products and services to cater their needs.
Sa Pa town has exerted its efforts to preserve and effectively exploit cultural values of ethnic groups to serve tourism. The town will build more homestays to lure visitors to community-based tourism sites. It will invest in five tourism destinations meeting the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Standard associated with cultural identities of ethnic groups in five communes, including Ta Van of the Giay, Ta Phin of the Dao, Muong Hoa of the H’Mong, Ban Ho of the Tay, and Lien Minh of the Xa Pho. The town will offer tourists with high-end recreational tourism products combined with green, cultural and ecological tourism products at agricultural and craft villages. In addition, it will organize trekking tours to explore natural beauty of Hoang Lien Son National Park and Ngu Chi Son peak, and conquer Fansipan peak, tours to enjoy snow in the winter, spiritual tours and extreme sports tours providing paragliding, mountain biking and rafting services.
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| Tourists join ethnic girls in a dance with bamboo poles called “sap” in a Sa Pa festival.__Photo: Pham Bang/VNA |
Lao Cai province will continue calling for potential groups and enterprises to invest in urban development and tourism projects in Sa Pa. From now until 2030, Sa Pa town will have four recreational tourism projects invested by T&G Group in the southeast of the town and five five-star hotels in Muong Hoa valley constructed by ECOPARK, Sun and AnphaNam Groups.
Over the past years, the authorities have prioritized and focused investment in transport infrastructure to connect the Sa Pa national tourism zone with other areas in the locality. Worthy of note, a road connecting the Noi Bai-Lao Cai highway with Sa Pa and a bypass road on National Highway 4D through Sa Pa town have been open to traffic. The province has prepared for the construction of the Sa Pa airport.
Sa Pa town has successfully developed a number of ecological, cultural and sports tourism brands that have left positive impressions on tourists. Among a series of five-season tourism events organized during the year, Vietnam Mountain Marathon (VMM) has been acclaimed as the most spectacular challenge by professionals.
Besides, Sa Pa town authorities have encouraged the locals to build a civilized, welcoming and green tourism image. The town has invested in the system of public toilets and other essential infrastructural facilities up to the ASEAN Clean Tourist City standards. Since August 2023, authorities and local people across the town have collected and classified rubbish weekly for a clean Sa Pa and almost 200 tourism service providers have registered to offer free toilets to tourists.
At present, Sa Pa town has promoted digital transformation in tourism advertising through operating a smart management system with 360-degree virtual reality software and the app “Sa Pa tour” which are expected to provide accurate information and images of tourist attractions, cultural relics, festivals and events in Sa Pa town as well as food, accommodations and shopping services and sightseeing tours to users.
Sa Pa town expects to welcome 5.8 million tourist arrivals, including 1 million foreign holiday-makers this year, and the number of tourist arrivals is expected to hit 8 million by 2030 and 12 million by 2040. Last year, the town received 4.5 million tourist arrivals.- (VLLF)
