Donning a picturesque patchwork of white and pink hues, courtesy of the blooming plum and peach flowers in spring, community-based tourism villages in Hoa Binh province have drawn a large number of visitors from far and wide, helping mountainous localities get out of poverty.
Ethnic women in Ngoi village, Suoi Hoa commune, Tan Lac district, are making meticulous preparation to welcome visitors.
According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Bui Xuan Truong, local community-based tourism has been attractive to both domestic and foreign visitors.
Twenty-two community-based tourism villages with 180 homestays have been developed in the province so far, bringing a better life to the Muong, Thai, Mong and Dao people, he said, adding many households have escaped poverty thanks to tourism.
The community-based model was developed in Chien hamlet - a small Muong village with difficulties in 2019 with the support of the Australian non-governmental organisation Action on Poverty (AOP). After four years of operation, it has helped the hamlet position itself in the province’s tourism map with more visitors coming to experience local landscape and culture.
Mai Hich commune in Mai Chau district, bestowed with scenic beauty and unique cultural traits, has branched out community-based tourism, with 11 households in Hich 1, Hich 2 and Cha Lang hamlets providing this kind of service. Each homestay in the district could accommodate up to 30 guests.
Although the commune has not gained popularity like Lac village or Pom Coong village, it has drawn an increasing number of domestic and foreign arrivals, bringing better income for local residents.
Meanwhile, Sung hamlet in Cao Son commune, Da Bac district, locating in the foot of Bieu mountain, has become a magnet for tourists who come to enjoy the standout cultural traits of the Dao Tien ethnic people.
Being introduced to indigo-dying technique and traditional brocade-weaving craft, giving it a try to print patterns on fabric with beeswax and healing themselves with Dao herbal bathing are among the most interesting experiences that visitors have while staying in the hamlet. Beyond cultural exchange, community-based tourism has contributed to creating jobs and increasing income for local residents.
Hoa Binh has taken measures, focusing on removing barriers in terms of mechanism, policy, infrastructure, and upgrading technical infrastructure facilities serving tourism and the quality of human resources, to promote tourism development in the Hoa Binh Lake area.
Over the past time, Da Bac has deployed measures to lure more domestic and foreign visitors to the locality, aiming to turn tourism into the district’s economic spearhead.
Covering an area of over 52,000 hectares spanning districts of Mai Chau, Tan Lac, Cao Phong, Da Bac, and Hoa Binh City, Hoa Binh lake has strong potential for tourism development. In recent years, thanks to the attention of local Party Committees and authorities as well as support from international organisations, the advantages of tourism in the lake area have been utilised.
Mai Chau is a mountainous district and home to many ethnic groups such as Thai, Muong, Kinh, Mong, Dao, and Tay with distinctive cultural identities, creating a diverse and unique cultural treasure. Aware of its advantages, the district has paid attention to the preservation and promotion of ethnic groups’ cultural values so that culture will become a leverage for tourism and contribute to socio-economic development and life quality improvement.
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