Tourism co-operation between HCM City and eight provinces in the country’s north-west will help create more tourism products. — Photo nld.com.vn

HCM CITY — Tourism co-operation between HCM City and eight provinces in the country’s north-west will help create more tourism products and revive the industry post-pandemic, an online meeting between the localities on tourism development heard.

The meeting last week was attended by relevant authorities from Điện Biên, Hà Giang, Hoà Bình, Lai Châu, Lào Cai, Phú Thọ, Sơn La, and Yên Bái provinces. 

Standing vice chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, Lê Thanh Liêm, said it is important for all participating provinces to carefully prepare to develop promising tourism products. 

Last July a study team from the city Department of Tourism, Tourism Association, Saigontourist, and Vietravel visited the provinces to create tourism products.

A major conference on tourism co-operation between the two sides is expected to be held in late August though Liêm said the actual timing would be confirmed later.

Similar collaboration between the city and localities in the Mekong Delta and the south-east has been in place for a while now.

Liêm said the tourism strengths of the eight north-western provinces would be further enhanced with this tie-up.

Lê Văn Quý, vice chairman of the Điện Biên People’s Committee, said his province is home to the historical Điện Biên Phủ relic and has the potential to develop eco-tourism. 

But it has not thrived due to transportation limitations, he said.

“The province does not have any large tour operator, making it difficult to create tours jointly with other localities.”

With HCM City’s help, new tours to Điện Biên could be created and the province’s human resources could be trained better, he said.

Trần Đức Quý, vice chairman of the Hà Giang Province People’s Committee, said most tourism products in the north-west are similar, and so it is important to find out the unique and outstanding feature of each province to create diverse tours and attract more visitors.

“The north-west is rich in culture. Hoà Bình Province also plans to place more emphasis on the service industry, particularly tourism,” a representative of Hoà Bình Province said. — VNS