In order to realize the goal of making the Hoa Binh lake area a "Ha Long on the mountains", Mr. Bui Xuan Truong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Phu Tho province - said: "Phu Tho province sets a target to welcome about 20 million visitors by 2030, tourism revenue to reach about 26,500 billion VND; gradually build Phu Tho into a national cultural and festival tourism center, a prominent destination for cultural, religious, ecological and resort tourism of the North".
No landscape concretization
Identifying a strategic direction to develop green tourism, lake ecotourism, associated with preserving and promoting sustainable local cultural values, Mr. Dinh Son Tung - Vice Chairman of Muong Hoa Commune People's Committee emphasized 3 spearheads that create differentiation.
First, develop tourism differently from the experience of relying on nature. The locality firmly adheres to the view of not concretizing the landscape, not trading off the environment and cultural identity for development. Key products include eco-tourism, rowing, high-class camping, water sports, while preserving the pristine and fresh beauty of the lake to attract domestic and international tourists who need resort and healing.
Second, create a different impression from the indigenous cultural flow. Muong Hoa commune aims for tourists not only to admire the scenery but also to experience life with the people through standard homestay models, enjoy local cuisine and participate in traditional cultural activities of the Muong people.
With 98.5% of the population in the commune being Muong people, the locality still preserves many unique cultural values, including national intangible cultural heritages such as Muong Mo, Muong gongs, Dum singing and traditional culinary arts.
Third, develop indigenous agriculture associated with tourism. The locality focuses on building an OCOP product chain, exploiting specialties of the lake area such as rocky mountain goats, lake fish, pigs, hill chickens, purple sugarcane, yellow potatoes... to serve tourists and become gifts imbued with local identity.
Removing infrastructure and environmental bottlenecks
Besides clear development orientations, localities and businesses believe that for lake tourism to break through, it is necessary to soon remove bottlenecks in infrastructure and environment, in which waste treatment is an urgent issue.
Ms. Ban Kim Quy - Chairwoman of Tien Phong Commune People's Committee - said that although there is a plan, the locality has not yet clearly defined solutions for waste treatment and environmental protection in the lake area. This is one of the limitations that needs to be overcome soon to ensure sustainable tourism development.
From a business perspective, Ms. Ha Thuy Hanh - Operations Director of Ngu Mai Retreat - said that in addition to electricity, transportation and human resources infrastructure, the lack of centralized waste collection areas is causing many difficulties for business operations. Although there is information about planning, businesses want to have a specific roadmap and implementation time to proactively invest and operate.
For resorts, the amount of waste generated daily is very large. Having a waste collection area is an urgent need, helping to solve the environmental problem, and at the same time fulfill commitments to the locality in maintaining hygiene, ensuring food safety and creating a clean and beautiful environment to serve tourists" - Ms. Hanh shared.
