Less than 170 km from Hanoi, Van Ho district in the northern mountainous province of Son La is within the planning area of the Moc Chau national tourist site, boasting diverse natural landscapes and unique ethnic minority cultures. These are prerequisites for developing community-based tourism in association with preserving and promoting unique local cultural features and building new rural areas.
Van Ho district in Son La province is bestowed with a cool climate and forest coverage of over 56%. The district is often compared to famous tourism destinations such as Sa Pa, Tam Dao, or Da Lat.
Visitors to Van Ho will have the chance to breathe fresh air and admire beautiful tourist attractions such as Chieng Yen hot springs and Xuan Nha ancient forest.
All of the residents in Hua Tat village in Van Ho commune are from the Mong ethnic minority. The village now has seven homestays providing accommodation services. Of particular note is the A Chu homestay, which won the 2019 ASEAN Homestay award for excellent tourist destinations. Local resident Trang A Chu has been a pioneer in developing community-based tourism in the village.
Many households in the village have followed in Trang A Chu’s footsteps. The breath of fresh air from community tourism has changed the lives of the local Mong ethnic minority people. Many households have thrived through running orchards and offering agricultural tourism in their homeland. Efforts in community tourism have changed the appearance of Hua Tat village, with average incomes on the rise.
In Chieng Yen commune, 10 households now offer homestay services. Villagers are more than aware of the importance of preserving their traditional cultural features, such as maintaining cultural and artistic activities and brocade weaving to entertain tourists.
To overcome the difficulties and develop tourism, Van Ho district is working to improve roads to tourism sites while mobilising resources to invest in lighting and waste treatment facilities.
Van Ho is working to build at least five community-based tourism villages by 2025, associated with preserving traditional cultural identities, and forming five types of outstanding tourism services and souvenirs that are competitive and appeal to visitors./.
VNA – en.vietnamplus.vn
