Bac Ha horse racing - a unique tourism product that attracts many tourists

In the first phase of re-establishing the province, Lao Cai tourism is only a primitive "brushstroke" that has not yet made an impression on the tourist map. In the period before the 1990s, Lao Cai tourism was only spontaneous, tourism facilities were almost nonexistent. In 1992, after 1 year of re-establishing the province, Lao Cai only received 8,000 tourists, with revenue of 1.3 billion VND. After many years of efforts, Lao Cai tourism is making a colorful painting, with highlights and impressive breakthroughs. Many products and tourist attractions of the province have become the regular choice of domestic and foreign tourists, especially Sa Pa, Bac Ha tourist area and Lao Cai city.

Referring to Lao Cai tourism, most visitors will know Sapa. From the wild mountain areas, only ethnic minorities live there, after more than 100 years of construction and development, Sa Pa has grown strongly, becoming the national tourist area attracting millions of tourists every year. Not only possessing "god blessing" advantages such as fresh climate, diverse landscapes, unique and various ethnic cultures, Sapa tourism also has many opportunities to "take off" when being welcomingly received many important "leverages" from the province's development policy to key projects from strategic investors. In 2014, when the Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway was completed, it shortened the travel time of tourists; until 2016, Sun World Fansipan Legend has come into operation and become the most attractive tourist destination in Sapa and in the country. In 2017, Sa Pa was recognized as the National Tourist Area by the Prime Minister. These above conditions has created the new position and resource for the development of Sa Pa tourism and a breakthrough in the number of tourists. In 2019, Sapa attracted 3.2 million visitors. Mr.Nguyen Huy Trung, a tourist from Hanoi has shared: Sa Pa has always been an attractive destination for my family. I used to be in Sa Pa many years ago, this land is full of charm and attraction, a rare place in Vietnam where four seasons are beautiful and amazing. Besides, Sa Pa also posesses the "destination of human life" - the legendary Fansipan peak has become the desire for tourists to discover and conquer.

Brocade colors.

Referring to Lao Cai tourism, now tourists not only know about Sa Pa, but tourism space is also expanded to Y Ty (Bat Xat), Bac Ha, Lao Cai city and many new tourist attractions which are being discovered and invested for development. During the past 30 years, Lao Cai has had many creative ideas in promoting tourism to tourists from all over the country through building tourism products associated with the exploitation of local culture. The diversity of geographical, natural and cultural conditions is the advantage for Lao Cai to have unique events, cultural, sports and tourism products. From the similarities in nature and culture, Lao Cai has taken the initiative to organize tourism connection programs "Back to the roots" between the three provinces of Lao Cai, Yen Bai and Phu Tho; followed by the program to connect 8 provinces in the "Northwest Tourism Arc". In addition, Lao Cai has organized many international events, such as Vietnam - China Trade and Tourism Fair; Tour of bicycle race "One racetrack, two nations"... The above events contribute to promoting the beauty of the people, the land and attracting tourists to Lao Cai.

Realizing the potential, strengths and determination to develop the "Hospitality industry", from the Provincial Party Congress XIV (prorogue of 2010 - 2015), Lao Cai has determined the goal of developing tourism to become the leading industry. To the Provincial Party Congress XV (prorogue of 2015 - 2020), tourism was identified as the breakthrough to create synchronous economic, political, cultural and social development of the province. The Provincial Party Congress XVI (prorogue of 2020 - 2025), tourism development continues to be identified as one of the two breakthroughs of the province, with the goal of building Lao Cai to become the most attractive tourist destination of the Northwest region, which is one of the key tourist attractions of Vietnam, a major international tourist center by 2025.

With the right policy and steps, Lao Cai tourism has had a breakthrough, in 2019, Lao Cai welcomed 5.1 million tourists and became highlight in the tourism context in the Northwest. In addition to Sa Pa National Tourist Area, Lao Cai also has 2 provincial tourist areas and 30 recognized tourist attractions. Currently, Lao Cai has more than 300 homestays, some of which has met ASEAN standards. From the time when there was no travel agencies, the province now has 34 travel agencies, including 32 international travel agencies, with nearly 200 tour guides and about 30,000 employees working in the tourism industry. Lao Cai's tourism products are recognized by the world press and magazines, and are well mentioned, such as Bac Ha market which is the most attractive market, Fansipan peak - the roof of Indochina, or Ky Quan San is the most attractive cloud hunting site in Vietnam…

In the period of 2020 - 2025, Lao Cai tourism is determined to make good use of its advantages, becoming the breakthrough in the province's social-economic development, focusing on developing Sa Pa National Tourist Area and some key tourism areas of the province such as Lao Cai city, Bac Ha and Bat Xat. Sharing about the orientation and development goals of the National Tourist Area, Mr. Vuong Trinh Quoc, Chairman of the People's Committee of Sa Pa town said: Orientation to 2025, Sapa tourism will attract 6 million visitors. To achieve that number, Sapa tourism needs to be developed in depth, not massively expanded. With outstanding potentials to elevate and develop tourism, Sapa needs potential, quality and effective investors. Residential areas and tourist infrastructure should be properly planned and closely supervised by specialized agencies. Focusing on training and improving the quality of human resources for tourism so that visitors to Sapa are really satisfied with the service, people and landscape here. 

Implementing the plan to develop tourism products in Lao Cai province for the period of 2021 - 2025, with a vision to 2030, Lao Cai strives to become the province having the most attractive tourism products compared to other mountainous provinces in the country. Lao Cai tourism strives for the period 2020 - 2025 to welcome 10 million tourists or more, total revenue from tourists is estimated to achieve at 44,750 billion VND, contributing to GRDP which is estimated to achieve at 22% - 23%...

Mr. Ha Van Thang, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: To achieve the goals, Lao Cai tourism industry will implement synchronous solutions, contributing to creating breakthrough and sustainable development for tourism. Focusing on improving the comprehensive quality of tourism, allocating appropriate resources from the local budget, integrating loan sources, targeted programs on tourism infrastructure and other legal capital sources for investment of developing traffic infrastructure, improving traffic connectivity to tourist areas and spots; investment in synchronous technical infrastructure, parking lots, transient stations, qualified toilets on tourist routes, spots and areas, and at the same time reviewing, evaluating and improving the quality and competitiveness of existing tourism products and services. Continuing to research and develop new tourism products that are attractive to tourists, prioritizing the development of specific tourism products with competitive advantages.  

With the synchronous implementation of the proposed tasks and solutions, it is believed that Lao Cai tourism will soon declare as one of the main pillars, becoming the leading industry, contributing to quickly and sustainably poverty reduction, creating breakthrough in economic development, making great contributions to the development of the province.