Northwest Vietnam aims for the National Tourism Year 2017.

At the press conference, Mr. Ha Van Thang, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lao Cai province, introduced the potential of the Northwest region with many advantages in natural and cultural resources for tourism development. Recently, the Northwest region has increasingly focused on the tourism investment environment, implementing open policies and mechanisms to attract investors and build infrastructure to serve tourism…

In 2017, Lao Cai province was expected to welcome 2.4 million tourists, while the Northwest provinces are projected to welcome 10 million tourists by 2020. Regarding target markets, the Northwest region aims to attract tourists from Russia, Japan, the South, and those within regional linkages.

Regarding preparations for the 2017 Northwest National Tourism Year, the Steering Committee for Tourism of the 8 Northwest provinces announced that there will be 22 main events, 23 supporting activities, and 8 distinctive products. Accordingly, in October 2016, the Northwest Ethnic Groups' Culture, Sports, and Tourism Festival will be the kick-off event for the National Tourism Year. This will be followed by a series of cultural, sports, and tourism events taking place in the region from June to October 2017.

The characteristic tourism products of the 8 provinces in the region are expected to be invested in and exploited to serve the National Tourism Year 2017, such as: Northwest community tourism focusing on building and exploiting typical community tourism products to introduce the beauty of the people, culture and lifestyle of the ethnic communities in the Northwest; "Journey to discover the heritage route of terraced rice fields - Northwest" tourism; "Highland market" tourism; spiritual tourism along the Red River; spiritual tourism along the Da River; "Colorful Northwest flowers" tourism; "Conquering the Peaks" tourism: Developing tourist routes for tourists who want to explore and conquer the peaks of Vietnam (Fansipan - Lao Cai (3,143), Phu Ta Leng - Lai Chau (3,040m), Ky Quan San (Bach Moc Luong Tu) Lao Cai - Lai Chau (3,040 m), Chieu Lau Thi - Ha Giang (2,412 m), combined with experiencing the culture of ethnic groups in the Northwest.

Introducing the Lao Cai Province Investment Promotion and Tourism Promotion Conference 2016, held on May 7th and organized by the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee, the provincial leaders emphasized that this activity aims to support Lao Cai in connecting its tourism activities with tourism associations and travel businesses. The conference was attended by approximately 500 businesses, leaders from ministries and agencies, experts, and domestic and foreign investors. Accordingly, the conference focused on showcasing Lao Cai's investment attraction results; outlining priority investment projects to serve the socio-economic development of Lao Cai from 2016-2020; and the local government's commitment to supporting investment and improving the local business environment.

The National Tourism Year is the most prestigious and largest-scale tourism event in Vietnam. With the attention of the Government, the Northwest Steering Committee; the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism; the advice of the EU Project; the support of the Vietnam Investment and Development Bank; the coordination of the Vietnam Travel Association; and the coordinated promotion by numerous journalists in the media, tourism activities in the Expanded Northwest region will be further improved in both quality and quantity, better meeting the needs of tourists, and moving towards building the Northwest region into a unified, attractive, and environmentally and socially responsible tourist destination in Vietnam.

The Thanh