Building a sustainable tourism ecosystem
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ms. Vu Thi Hien Hanh - Vice Chairwoman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee - said that after the merger, Lao Cai became a locality with a large development space with an area of more than 13,200km2, a population of nearly 1.8 million people and 33 ethnic groups living together.
The new space helps localities converge outstanding values of landscape, culture and infrastructure, creating a foundation to become a tourist connection center of the Northwest region.
According to Ms. Hanh, Lao Cai possesses a unique tourism resource system with Fansipan peak, Sa Pa National Tourist Area, Mu Cang Chai terraced fields, Thac Ba Lake, Y Ty, Bac Ha and a treasure trove of cultural heritage of more than 30 ethnic groups, including many heritages recognized by UNESCO such as Thai Xoe Art and Then Practice.
The locality is also a rare province in the Northwest region that fully converges all types of road, rail, and waterway transport and is deploying Sa Pa Airport, creating an advantage in connecting with the Chinese market, ASEAN and domestic tourism centers.
In 2025, Lao Cai welcomed 10.5 million visitors. In the first six months of 2026, the locality welcomed 6.75 million visitors, an increase of 35.1% compared to the same period, tourism revenue reached more than 25,370 billion VND.
However, provincial leaders also acknowledged that promotion activities are still lacking in depth, tourism infrastructure in some areas does not meet requirements, tour and route links are not synchronized, and high-quality tourism products are still limited.
The current requirement is no longer to develop individual destinations but to form a unified tourism ecosystem, connecting natural resources with culture, urban areas with rural areas; and at the same time clearing bottlenecks in mechanisms, infrastructure and policies to improve competitiveness," Ms. Vu Thi Hien Hanh emphasized.
Forming four-season tourism
Speaking at the seminar, Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Dung - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Lao Dong Newspaper - said that in the digital age, the method of promoting destinations has changed dramatically.
Tourists and investors no longer only seek information through traditional introduction materials but are more interested in true, emotional and contagious stories.
The press not only introduces how beautiful Lao Cai is, but also has to explain why this is a place worth investing in.
With the role of a reputable press agency, Lao Dong Newspaper will continue to accompany the province in conveying analyses on the investment environment, administrative reform, infrastructure planning and development potential, helping investors see the long-term value of Lao Cai," Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Dung shared.
At the seminar, delegates focused on discussing 5 key groups of issues including building the Lao Cai tourism brand; strengthening regional linkages; expanding the international tourist market; developing high-quality tourism infrastructure and products; and improving the investment environment to attract strategic investors.
Many opinions suggest that after expanding its development space, Lao Cai is possessing a rare tourism ecosystem that connects famous destinations such as Sa Pa, Y Ty, Bac Ha, Mu Cang Chai, Tu Le, Suoi Giang and Thac Ba Lake.
This is the foundation for forming four-season tourist routes with many diverse experiences, increasing attractiveness to domestic and foreign tourists.
Representatives of the UNESCO Travel Club Hanoi proposed many solutions to expand the tourist market from Japan, Korea, ASEAN and Europe, while emphasizing the development of green tourism products, local cultural experiences and high-quality resorts according to new trends.
Developing high-end resort products
From a business perspective, a representative of Topas Ecolodge (Denmark) said that Lao Cai has many advantages to develop high-end eco-resort products if it knows how to balance between exploiting natural resources, preserving cultural identity and protecting the environment.
Meanwhile, representatives of Sun Group proposed to continue to improve synchronous tourism infrastructure, attract strategic investors, and develop high-class resort complexes to create new growth momentum for the tourism industry.
To make tourism a key economic sector as directed by the Prime Minister, the province needs to have a mechanism to attract and build inter-regional traffic; invest in digital infrastructure and shared tourism data," this person emphasized.
In addition, many experts also assess golf tourism as a potential segment, capable of extending stays and increasing tourist spending.
The combination of golf with resort, culture and ecotourism is expected to create more differentiated products, improving the competitiveness of Lao Cai on the international tourism map.
Some experts also believe that to realize the goal of making Lao Cai an international tourist center of the Northwest region, the locality needs to continue to improve the investment environment, improve the quality of planning, and promote administrative procedure reform.
In addition, build sufficiently attractive mechanisms to attract strategic investors, towards green, sustainable and high value-added tourism development.
