Bui
Thi Kim Dung, Vice Chairwoman of the Lao Cai People’s Committee and the
official in charge of tourism cooperation among the three provinces in
2010, says that the program will be sufficiently diverse to reflect the
potential of this region.
Ready
Dung says the program is one of the 10 major tourism events
which northwestern provinces will organize in 2010 to mark 1,000th
anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi, and will therefore be brimming with
innovative approaches aimed at capturing the interest of tour operators.
“The program will be effectively organized to diversify the tourism
products of all the three provinces involved. Together with
culture-based tourism and ecotourism, it will become a unique tourism
product,” Dung stresses.
The opening ceremony will be held on February 27 (the 14th day of the
first lunar month) at the square of the Lao Cai - Cam Duong New Urban
Town, in conjunction with the main activities, including Thuong Temple
Festival (Lao Cai), “Festival in the Cloud” in Sapa, the Bac Ha Open horse race, a contest for explorers wishing to conquer Fansipan and Lao Cai City’s tourism festival.
Yen Bai will also launch many activities such as the Dong Cuong
Temple Festival, the Dai Cai- Luc Yen Temple Festival, celebration of
its 110th anniversary and Muong Lo Culture - Tourism Week.
Phu Tho, meanwhile, will kick off a variety of traditional festivals
on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, the Hung Temple Festival.
One of the highlights of the program is the international mountain-climbing contest themed “Thang Long Hanoi
- millennium anniversary.” This event is part of the activities
organized to mark the capital’s 1,000th anniversary which have already
received the nod from the Prime Minister.
The contest will lure competing teams from ASEAN countries and China,
in addition to tourism enterprises, diplomatic delegations and
international organizations in Hanoi and HCMC.
Tran Huu Son, Director of the Lao Cai Department of Culture, Sports
and Tourism, says that the contest is special as it features special
ceremonies of ethnic minority races such as H’mong and Dao. The use of
folk songs throughout the entire event, the flagpole-erection ceremony
included, has been discussed in detail.
Cooperation for development
Five years of tourism cooperation among Lao Cai, Yen Bai and Phu Tho has
reaped considerable success in cultural interchange and socio-economic
development.
A host of unique tourism products have been created to attract
tourists, foster socio-economic development, create jobs and improve
living standards. Many tours to the region have come about, including
“Colors of the highlands” and “Heritage Trip to Northwestern Vietnam.”
The provinces have focused on restoring historical landmarks,
improving facilities such as hotels, offering supporting services and
developing products such as souvenirs to cater to demands from tourists.
Many other localities have also indicated their interest in learning
from Lao Cai, Yen Bai and Phu Tho to flesh out sustainable, regional
tourism development strategies.
However, tourism experts and tour operators say that the “Returning
to the roots” program has not been impressive enough to generate their
interest and some tourism products still lack regional attributes.
Son says that in 2010, the program will take more concrete steps to
capitalize on the potential of all three localities to develop trade,
tourism and services in these localities and expand ties with
southwestern China. The highlights include spiritual trips, as well as
visits to highland markets and terraced fields.