KHÁNH HÒA — The breathtaking landscape created by imposing karst mountains and impressive terraced rice fields, together with the unique ethnic culture of the local Mông people, has turn Hà Giang Province into a magnet for tourists and travellers.

Th country’s northernmost province is home to the Đồng Văn Karst Plateau Geopark – the first Global UNESCO Geopark in Việt Nam.

Hà Giang’s tourism potential was introduced to participants at a conference on Monday in the resort city of Nha Trang in the central province of Khánh Hòa. The event aimed to promote Hà Giang as an interesting place for tourists from the central region.

Organised by Hà Giang’s People’s Committee and the Việt Nam Tourism Association, the event drew more than 100 participants, including representatives of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and tourism companies operating in central provinces.

Speaking at the conference, Chairman of Hà Giang’s People’s Committee Nguyễn Văn Sơn said the event was an opportunity to present the diversified images of his homeland and its people, the rich ethnic culture and stunning landscapes, as well as other tourist products.

High notes: A young Mông boy plays a traditional instrument along a scenic, winding mountain road. — Photo nationalgeographic.com

“In addition, the event will also strengthen co-operation to promote tourism between the northernmost province and Khánh Hòa as well as with other central provinces such as Đà Nẵng, Ninh Thuận, Bình Thuận, Quảng Ngãi and Phú Yên,” he said.

In 2016, the province released a resolution on policies to promote tourism development. These policies support individuals and enterprises who invest into hotels, resorts, restaurants, community tourism and cave tourism.    

At present, there are 20 tourist companies with representative offices in the province. In addition, more than 200 restaurants, 618 hotels with nearly 6,000 rooms, and 37 cultural villages offering community tourism have contributed significantly to provincial tourism development.  

In 2018, among the 1,150,000 tourists to visit Hà Giang, 250,000 were foreigners. Total revenue from tourism reached more than VNĐ1 trillion (more than US$43 million).   

This has helped Hà Giang stamp itself on the country’s tourism map. It is one of 24 national key tourism spots and has been selected by the international press as one of the most interesting destinations in Việt Nam. 

Stepping up: Hà Giang’s impressive terraced rice fields. — Photo vietnam-travel.org

However, receiving an increasing number of tourists each year, there are many remaining matters that could harm further tourism development. While a limited traffic network some places are inaccessible, and poor tourism infrastructure is sometimes unable to satisfy tourists’ demands.

Most conference participants agreed that Hà Giang should preserve and promote its unique ethnic cultural values.

Vice Chairman of the Việt Nam Tourism Association Vũ Thế Bình said that Hà Giang could also create other unique tourism products by taking advantage of its local ethnic cuisine and traditional medicine.

Several Memorandum of Understandings on tourism co-operation between Hà Giang and central provinces such as Khánh Hòa, Phú Yên, Lâm Đồng and Ninh Thuận were signed at the conference. — VNS