International tourists check in at the Đồng Văn Karst Plateau in Tuyên Quang Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

THÁI NGUYÊN — The tourism industry is shifting from developing individual destinations to building connected journeys, with localities sharing resources, markets and value.

In the northern region, Thái Nguyên, Bắc Ninh, Phú Thọ, Tuyên Quang, Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn hold strong potential to form an interprovincial tourism network thanks to their diverse landscapes, heritage, culture and tourism products.

Yet turning that potential into competitive products requires better infrastructure, services, business cooperation and coordination.

Each province offers distinctive attractions. Thái Nguyên is known for tea culture, revolutionary relics, forest landscapes and community-based tourism; Phú Thọ for the Hùng Kings heritage and Xoan singing; Bắc Ninh for Quan họ (love duet) folk songs, Kinh Bắc culture and traditional craft villages; Tuyên Quang for revolutionary history and ethnic minority cultures; Cao Bằng for mountains, waterfalls, caves, revolutionary history and local culture; and Lạng Sơn for mountains, ethnic minority cultures and border tourism.

Linked together, these destinations could create longer, more diverse itineraries with multi-layered experiences, encouraging visitors to stay and spend more.

Phạm Văn Thủy, Deputy Director-General of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said cooperation should go beyond joint promotion to shared products, markets and value chains, shifting from “locality-to-locality cooperation” to “destination-to-destination connectivity”.

Tô Vũ Ninh, Director of the Cao Bằng Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province could serve as both a northern gateway for international visitors, particularly from China, and an end destination for tourists travelling from the South.

Hà Thị Bích Hồng, Director of the Thái Nguyên Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said her province’s expanded development space following the merger of administrative units offers opportunities to connect its industrialised southern area with the northern area’s forests, lakes, heritage and community-based tourism.

Improved highways and interprovincial roads are helping shorten travel times and facilitate multi-day tours. However, better transport must be matched by attractive products, quality services and convenient information access.

The six provinces are recommended to develop common themes covering heritage and culture, revolutionary history, nature and ecotourism, community-based tourism, cuisine and local specialties. Each locality should handle a specific link in the chain, but the final product should be designed as a unified journey.

Thái Hải village in Thái Nguyên's Tân Cương commune, recognised among the World's Best Tourism Villages, demonstrates the potential of community-based tourism.

Lê Thị Nga, deputy head of the village, said visitors are increasingly seeking authentic cultural and community experiences. If destinations are effectively linked, each locality can both showcase its unique identity and become part of a broader journey of discovery for travellers.

Tourism businesses need stronger cooperation in designing tours, sharing visitor markets, promoting products and maintaining service standards, said Đỗ Trọng Hiệp, Chairman of the Thái Nguyên Tourism Association.

Service-quality gaps remain a challenge. Connectivity must therefore extend beyond roads to accommodation, food, guiding, transport, environmental standards and promotion.

Thủy suggested the six provinces develop annual action plans with clear responsibilities, resources and deadlines, alongside regular assessments of cooperation. Digital transformation should also be leveraged to strengthen destination competitiveness and build a smart tourism ecosystem.

Ultimately, the goal is not simply to attract more visitors to individual provinces, but to create longer, richer journeys that boost local economies while preserving heritage, cultural identity and community livelihoods. — VNA/VNS