Blessed with a stunning natural landscape, fresh air, and a unique cultural identity, Mai Chau district, where the Thai people make up over 60% of its population, has located itself on the Vietnamese tourism map with community tourism.
The Thai ethnic
group in Mai Hich commune, Mai Chau district, optimise their unique culture in
community tourism.
Over-700-year-old Lac hamlet in Chieng Chau
commune began to provide tourism services in the 1960s, welcoming the first
international diplomatic delegations.
Today, traditional customs are still preserved
by local residents, which, together with the natural landscape, has helped the
hamlet attract crowds of tourists and make its name in the bucket list of many
foreign visitors.
Apart from Lac, other Thai hamlets like Pom
Coong in Mai Chau town, and Nhot in Na Phon commune are also well-known
community tourism destinations thanks to their unique cultural traits, simple
yet rustic architectural styles, and natural landscapes.
Apart from community tourism, some homestay
service providers have also built resorts to cater to the diverse demands of
tourists.
Over the past three years, Mai Chau has
maintained the market fair model on every Sunday in its centre, helping promote
community tourism there.
Ngan Van Tuan, head of the district Bureau of
Culture and Information, said Mai Chau has seen tourism as a spearhead economic
sector driven by community and resort tourism.
With eight community tourism sites, including
six run by the Thai people, the district welcomed over 600,000 holidaymakers in
the first eight months of this year, of them 20% foreign.
Community tourism not only contributes to
economic restructuring, job creation, raising income, and improving living
standards, but also plays a role in cultural preservation, the official said.
Spanning thousands of hectares and winding gracefully along mountain slopes, hillsides, and riverbanks, the terraced rice fields of Lac Son District present a stunning and captivating beauty. This region, renowned for its remarkable terraced landscapes, is also the centre of Hoa Binh Culture known for numerous archaeological sites.
The life of Mong people in Hang Kia and Pa Co communes of Mai Chau district has improved much thanks to tourism development.
The man-made Hoa Binh Lake, with a water surface area of approximately 9,000 hectares and a capacity of 9.45 billion cubic meters, stretches over 200 kilometers from Hoa Binh to Son La provinces. With the goal of developing into a national tourism area, the Hoa Binh Lake tourism area is expected to not only become the largest tourism centre in the province but also one of the 12 key tourist destinations in the northern midland and mountainous region of Vietnam.
Da Bia hamlet, now Duc Phong, in Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, was once almost isolated from the outside as the only way to the hamlet was to get a boat ride across the Hoa Binh reservoir. However, as its tourism potential has been unleashed, the hamlet has established itself as one of the most attractive destinations on the tourism map. It has even received the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Awards in 2019.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province welcomed over 684 thousand visitors to visit and relax. In which, over 516 thousand domestic visitors and more than 168 thousand international visitors. Total revenue from tourism is estimated at over 821 billion VND.
Da Bac district, bestowed with stunning landscapes, is developing ecological and resort tourism offerings. Several tourist sites, put into operation this year, has attracted throngs of high-spending and young domestic visitors.
