Foreigners prefer homestay tourism in Sa Pa (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuchas recently signed a decision recognising the resort town of Sa Pa in thenorthern mountainous province of Lao Cai as a national tourism site.
The PM assigned the Lao Cai provincial People’s Committee to coordinate withthe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and relevant ministries and sectorsto organise a ceremony to announce the decision.
They were also urged to promote tourism in Sa Pa and submit to the PM aproposal on suitable policies and mechanisms to develop Sa Pa in a sustainable manner.
Located 350km northwest of Hanoi capital city, Sa Pa is 1,600m high above sealevel, with the average temperature of 15-18°C. The whole town is dominated bythe Hoang Lien Son mountain range which is famous with the Indochina’s highestmountain of Fansipan at a height of 3,142 m above sea level.
Discovered in 1903 by the French, Sa Pa has many natural scenic sites such asHam Rong Mountain, Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall), Cau May (Rattan Bridge), BambooForest and Ta Phin Cave. The hill town is home to six main ethnic minoritygroups, including Kinh, Hmong, Dao, Tay, Day and Xa Pho with varioustraditional festivals and unique cultural practices, especially the Bac Hamarket and Sa Pa love market.
According to statistics of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports andTourism, Lao Cai welcomed more than 1.1 million tourists in the first quarterof 2017, including nearly 230,000 foreigners, a year-on-year rise of 56.6percent.
It is striving to welcome more than 6 million tourists, and become a keytourism centre of the north western region by 2020.
The province hopes to welcome at least 3.1 million tourists in the NationalTourism Year 2017.-VNA
VNA
