Speaking at the event, vice secretary of the Ha Giang provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Son stressed the conference is an opportunity for the northernmost province to introduce its scenic sites, cultural values, and tourism products to the central market.
Ha Giang has a population of 800,000, 90 percent of whom are ethnic minority people with their own culture and lifestyle. The most numerous are the Mong, Tay, Dao and Nung. The province is attractive to tourists by its endless terraced rice fields, buckwheat flower fields and grandiose mountain landscapes. One of the most beautiful sites in the province is the Dong Van Karst Global Geopark, designated by UNESCO as one of 77 sites with important geological and cultural value.
In 2018, Ha Giang welcomed more than 1.15 million visitors, of them 250,000 were foreigners, bring in a total of over 1 trillion VND (43 million USD) for the local tourism sector.
At the conference, participants spoke of the province’s natural features and cultural diversity. They also mentioned local shortcomings, including the transport system and tourism infrastructure, which are in need of investment for future development. They advised the province to work on preserving its ethnic cultural identities.
Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh recommended Ha Giang capitalise on local ethnic minorities’ culinary and valuable herbal plants.
The conference saw a number of cooperation pacts signed between Ha Giang’s tourism management agencies and businesses and their peers from the central provinces of Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, and Ninh Thuan, among others.
VNA/VNP