After a long time being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the three north-eastern provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Kan and Ha Giang have implemented synchronous and comprehensive solutions to recover and create breakthroughs in tourism.
Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang Province. (Photo: VOV)
Efforts made to develop new products
In early April, the People’s Committee of Nguyen Binh District, Cao Bang Province, launched several tourist products, including a sight-seeing area on top of Phia Oac Mountain, tours to a bamboo forest in Thanh Cong Commune, and the Hoai Khao community-based tourist site.
Also in April, Bac Kan Province held a conference to advertise its tourism potential and policies on tourism development to travel agencies and people in Hanoi.
Participants at the event were updated on newly released tours to caves, Ba Be Lake, and resorts in the locality. They had the chance to enjoy Then folk singing and shop for products within the province’s “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme.
Since late 2021, the provincial tourism promotion centre in Ha Giang Province has hosted dozens of virtual tours via the Zoom platform, introducing buckwheat flowers on the Dong Van Karst Plateau as well as its rural markets.
The 60-minute virtual tours attract visitors and travel companies from inside the country and those from Japan and the Europe.
The province also resumed many events after the two-year COVID hiatus, including the Khau Vai Market Festival, a programme touring heritage lands in the northern region, and a buckwheat flower festival.
Children stand at a buckwheat flower field in Ha Giang Province (Photo: VNA)
Joining hands to create breakthroughs in tourism
While developing new tourist products, the three provinces are giving priority to honouring their cultural identities and helping local ethnic minority groups benefit from tourism.
According to Lai Quoc Tinh, Chairman of Ha Giang Provincial Tourism Association, Ha Giang and other provinces in the region should further unlock the local culture and differentiate their tourism products in order to distinguish their products with those from mountainous and midland regions.
He also stressed the importance of preserving and promoting tangible and intangible cultural values of local ethnic communities.
Sharing the same view, Deputy Director of Ha Giang Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trieu Thi Tinh said that Ha Giang Province has always held that heritage preservation is key to sustainable tourism.
Therefore, the local tourism sector has worked to develop cultural-tourism products that embrace the indigenous identity while increasing the income of local people.
In May 2022, Bac Kan Province carried out a survey to evaluate the locality’s tourism resources. Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Quang Tuyen the local authorities allocated 6 trillion VND to the medium-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period, which focuses on mobilising available resources to upgrade transport infrastructure and connect the local Ba Be Lake tourist site with other destinations in the region.
In addition, the locality has worked to attract non-State investment in improving tourism facilities and infrastructure in tourist areas and attractions such as Na Khoang Waterfall, lakes Ba Be, Nam Cut and Ban Chang, and community-based tourist sites.
Meanwhile, the provincial authorities of Cao Bang have attached priority to developing intra-provincial transport network, boosting economic growth at border gates, and strengthening linkage among tourist attractions.
The province has also coordinated with Ha Giang Province to deploy a tour connecting its Non Nuoc Cao Bang Global Geopark with Ha Giang’s Dong Van Karst Plateau in order to offer a greater range of travel experiences for visitors to the locality.