Promotion campaigns have been organised to introduce tours to areas and villages of ethnic minority people in the region.
Such sites as Da Lat in Lam Dong and Don village in Dak Lak havereceived due attention and become popular destinations for both domesticand foreign visitors.
Last year, the region welcomed five million tourists from home and abroad, earning 8.134 trillion VND (387.3 million USD).
However, there are still shortcomings that need to be addressed to make full use of the region’s tourism potential.
Currently, travel agents only pay attention to developing eco-tourismand tours attached to culture, neglecting trekking due to the highinvestment needed, thus diverse tours are lacking.
Furthermore, the erosion of the space of “Gong” culture, which wasrecognised as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, and forestdestruction pose challenges for the provinces.
TheCentral Highlands has been recognised as a land of mysterious mountainsand forests with a significant population of ethnic minorities whosevaried customs and lifestyles are an anthropologist's delight.
The region is also home to some of the most endangered species inVietnam and Southeast Asia, such as the Indochinese tiger, the gaur, thewild Asian water buffalo and the Asian elephant.
The rich and unique natural beauty and cultural diversity make it an ideal site for tourism development.
The 2014 national tourism year is a good chance for the five provinces to find ways to tap the region’s tourism potential.
A series of tourism promotion activities will be held throughout theyear, including a traditional brocade-weaving festival, a traditionalcostumes show, a national chess tournament, a traditional instrumentsfestival, a food festival, a sport-culture festival and an internationalgongs festival.
Various new tours will be designed fortourists such as Jungle Tours to Madagui Forest, Dambri Waterfall,Pongour Waterfall, Tuyen Lam Lake, Langbiang Mountain; golf holidays inDa Lat; and tours following the footsteps of French biologist AlexandreYersin who discovered the Langbiang plateau in 1893.
The Central Highlands region plans to turn tourism into an economicspearhead between now and 2030, contributing to socio-economicdevelopment, poverty reduction, social security and maintaining securityand social order.
Specifically, the region sets towelcome 2.7 million domestic visitors and 450,000 foreign tourists,earning 260 million USD in 2015.-VNA