Untapped tourism potential

Ha Giang wants to become a key tourist center in the northern mountainous region

Supply-demand conflict

In 2016, Ha Giang welcomed 853,746 visitors, including 176,537 foreign visitors, earning revenue of VND795 billion, up 13 percent from 2015. Although this is a big improvement for Ha Giang’s tourism industry, it remains disproportionate with the province’s potential. Its verdant mountains, breathtaking panoramas and scenic valleys remain largely untapped.

At a recent Ha Giang tourism promotion conference, many travel business representatives said the province is strongly promoting tours to the province during ripe rice and buckwheat flower seasons despite its weak infrastructure capacity, causing supply-demand conflicts. The province has only one three-star hotel, 18 two-star hotels, 42 one-star hotels, and more than 150 guesthouses and homestay facilities, hardly enough to meet demand.

Tran The Dung, deputy director of the The He Tre Travel Company, said Dong Van District’s market, Stone Plateau and Ma Pi Leng peak attract an increasing number of visitors, but visitors usually have to move to another district (Meo Vac) for an overnight stay given the shortage of local accommodations.

Nguyen Van Son, chairman of the Ha Giang Province People’s Committee, said the number of visitors to the province increased an average of almost 3.25 percent annually, but Ha Giang tourism still has limitations and inadequacies. Its difficulties are associated with the province’s low socioeconomic condition rankings, Son said.

Ha Giang pledges support

Ha Giang is striving to attract 1.5 million visitors and earn tourism revenues of VND1.4 trillion by 2020. In order to reach the goal, the province and tourism industry will have to develop community-based tourism, further improve policies, develop transport infrastructure, enhance e-marketing, and offer attractive tours.

The province is encouraging businesses to invest in developing accommodations and tourist sites, such as hotels, entertainment centers, culture villages and caves. The province will provide investors with major assistance related to land, site clearance and administrative procedures and change its investor approach, pledged Ha Giang Province Party Committee Secretary, Trieu Tai Vinh.