Ha Giang finds way to boost community tourism

The mountainous province of Ha Giang has received over 100,000 tourist arrivals in the first half of this year, an increase of 20% over the same period last year; tourist receipts reached VND 75 billion. That the tourism industry is progressing while other economic sectors are in depression proves the effectiveness of the tourism strategy and that the province has become an attractive destination.
Comparing to other provinces, Ha Giang has some disadvantages in tourism development such as long distance to economic hubs; road is the only transportation option, thus facing challenges in forming tour connections. Since mountains and hills make up Ha Giang’s geological features, it would be difficult for the province to compete with other tourist destinations like Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Tam Dao (Vinh Phuc) in luxury resort segment. On the other hand, many tourists say staying in elegant resorts and enjoying proper facilities of modern life are not their goals after having traveled hundreds of kilometers to Ha Giang but tasting the primitiveness of the landscape, the uniqueness of local cultural characteristics. Bendy roads hug by clouds, huge plateau with strange rock forest, the unique Ma Pi Leng Pass, houses-on-stilts looming in morning dew… and especially the indigenous cultural features of ethnic groups living on the land of Ha Giang are something fascinating to tourists.
During the past years, the province has developed a number of cultural villages aiming to draw visitors from everywhere, namely the Tay cultural village in Phuong Do Commune (Ha Giang Town), the Dao cultural village of Nam An, Tan Thanh Commune (Bac Quang District), the Dao cultural villages of Lang Giang, Giang Thuong, Phin Ho, Nam Hong in Thong Nguyen Commune (Hoang Su Phi District)…
These cultural villages have been becoming tourist destinations, playing an important role in luring visitors to Ha Giang. However, low tourist receipt (VND 75 billion in 6 months), accounting for a very small proportion in the province’s total receipt, is problematic for Ha Giang. This reveals the fact that though tourist arrivals to Ha Giang are still considerable, their expenditure does not stand at the same level. Limited tourist products and poor services make difficulties for visitors, even those who want to buy some souvenirs for their relatives or friends.
Possessing tourist spots like the rock plateau, Lung Cu flag-tower…, Dong Van District has been a must-see destination for tourists to Ha Giang. Nonetheless, further thoughtful strategies are needed to turn tourism into a key economic sector of the province.
This is the problem not only for Dong Van but for other areas in the province. The root cause has been determined as lack of investment capital, low quality of human resource,…
Community tourism is a good choice for Ha Giang, helping promote its advantages. Nevertheless, harmony co-ordination of relevant agencies, appropriate investment and the involvement of local people are essential for the development of community tourism.