Building inter-regional tours
If before, when mentioning Lao Cai, many tourists immediately thought of Sa Pa or Fansipan peak, then after merging with Yen Bai, the tourism picture of the locality has become much broader.
Not only increasing in area and resources, Lao Cai also owns a rarely diverse tourism ecosystem, where natural, cultural, historical and resort values can be connected into continuous journeys.
That is also the reason why the theme "Lao Cai - Where the colors of the Northwest converge" was chosen for the seminar on promoting, attracting and advertising tourism on July 16th.
The message not only introduces a destination, but also affirms the aspiration to build a new image of Lao Cai - a place that converges the most unique values of the Northwest region, while opening up many opportunities for cooperation and investment.
The difference of Lao Cai after the merger is not in having more famous destinations, but in the ability to link tourism resources into a unified ecosystem.
On the same journey, tourists can hunt clouds in Y Ty, conquer Fansipan, explore Bac Ha market fair, experience the cultural space of H'Mong, Dao, Tay, Thai people, and then continue to Mu Cang Chai to admire the ripe rice season or relax by Thac Ba Lake.
Instead of short trips lasting only two or three days, Lao Cai aims to build inter-regional tours with longer stays, more diverse experiences and increasing the spending value of tourists.
Diversifying experiences
The new space also opens up opportunities for four-season tourism development for Lao Cai province. Spring is the festival season and flowers bloom throughout the mountains and forests; summer is the time to avoid the heat with a cool climate; autumn is the golden season on famous terraced fields; and winter is the time to hunt for clouds, admire snow and enjoy the very unique beauty of the high mountains.
In parallel with expanding tourism space, the locality also aims to innovate products.
Besides traditional product lines such as resort tourism, community tourism or nature exploration, many new types are being researched and developed such as golf tourism, sports tourism, international marathons, paragliding, mountain biking...
These products not only contribute to diversifying experiences but also target groups of customers with high spending capacity, long stays and the need to use many quality services.
One of the highlights in Lao Cai's tourism development strategy is building the "One destination - many journeys" brand.
Instead of promoting each individual place name, the locality orients itself to introduce an entire destination ecosystem, where each route brings different experiences in terms of landscape, culture and community life.
Not only aiming to increase the number of visitors, Lao Cai also wants to build an image of a destination friendly to investors. The message "Government accompanies businesses" expresses the determination to improve the investment environment, develop resorts, golf courses, luxury hotels, convention centers and many new tourism products suitable to market trends.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh - Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee shared: "After the merger, Lao Cai not only has more development space but also has the opportunity to restructure the tourism industry in a modern, linked and sustainable direction.
We want to build Lao Cai into a tourist center of the Northwest region, where each locality is a link in a chain of unique tourism products”.
