Connecting tourism to provinces along the Red River

Throughout the journey to explore tourist destinations along the Red River, we hope that the connection will be further promoted so that visitors can have truly complete experiences with the lands and people, not only from where the Red River meets the ocean to where the Red River flows into Vietnam, but also have the opportunity to explore and experience culture and tourism throughout the flow and basin of the mother river.

Appearance of Lao Cai city today (photo: Ngoc Bang).

Linking is an inevitable trend for rapid and sustainable development in all fields, and tourism cannot be excluded from that trend. Regional linking will create unique and distinctive tourism products, contributing to attracting and sharing tourists among provinces in the Red River region.

The linkage in tourism development along the Red River is also a "springboard" for localities to fully exploit their strengths, creating highly competitive and sustainable products. At the same time, it creates advantages in scale, saves costs in promoting, organizing tours, as well as investing in infrastructure, training costs... Thereby, enhancing the competitiveness between localities in the region, increasing the added value of tourism products along the Red River.

Lao Cai becomes a bridge for tourism development of provinces along the Red River (In photo: Phu Thinh Bridge - the 9th bridge across the Red River in Lao Cai province. Photo by Ngoc Bang).

As a bridge and pioneer in linking regional tourism development, Lao Cai province proposed an initiative to promote Red River tourism with the "Back to the Roots" tourism program - a program that later became a model for inter-regional tourism development.

Following that success, in 2008, the Program of cooperation in tourism development of 8 Northwestern provinces was expanded, taking spiritual tourism along the Red River as the center, signed by the People's Committees of 8 provinces (Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Ha Giang, Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau) in Lao Cai, opening up opportunities for cooperation and development in the field of tourism in the Northwestern region, contributing to building and forming a foundation for cooperation between provinces, creating a legal corridor for businesses inside and outside the region to invest and exploit tourism and service activities.

Every year, thousands of Chinese tourists enter Vietnam through Lao Cai international border gate.

Although there have been many successful programs that have left their mark, Lao Cai province is still constantly looking for solutions to promote tourism development among localities along the Red River.

Typically, at the end of 2024, the Department of Tourism of Lao Cai province - Vietnam (now the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism) coordinated with the Department of Culture and Tourism of Hong Ha Chau (China) to successfully organize a conference to introduce cross-border tourism in the Vietnam - China Red River basin. At the same time, the Vietnam - China Red River Basin Cross-Border Tourism Alliance was established: Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh - Lai Chau (Vietnam) - Van Son - Dali - So Hung - Kunming - Ngoc Khe - Hong Ha (China) - opening up new opportunities for tourism in the Red River basin.

Lao Cai also promotes and advertises many tourism activities in Yunnan (China).

As a cross-border tourism service operator, Mr. Truong Ai Tung, Director of Mi Lo Tourism Company (Yunnan Province, China) shared: We highly appreciate the tourism potential of the provinces in the Red River basin and wish to cooperate with the tourism industry and tourism service businesses to effectively exploit the unique tourism products of the localities in the Red River basin of Vietnam and China. We have many customers who want and are ready to experience this tourist route.

When he learned that we had an experience journey through the provinces along the Red River, Mr. Bui Van Quynh, Vice President of Lao Cai Province Tourism Association, Director of Le Minh International Travel Company Limited, commented: It is a truly interesting and desirable experience journey that not every tourist can have. However, currently, no locality or travel service operator has designed a full experience journey through the lands along the Red River.

“If there is effective connection and exploitation, surely the development of tourism along the Red River will not only be strongly promoted but also bring “unprecedented” interesting experiences to domestic and foreign tourists,” Mr. Quynh affirmed.

Delegates press the button to start the "golden" tourist route of the Vietnam - China Red River basin.

Assessing the potential for tourism development along the Red River, Mr. Lai Vu Hiep, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: The Red River basin has outstanding tourism resources, is an attractive tourist destination that is interested, loved and chosen by domestic and foreign tourists. The places here have won many prestigious tourism awards, honored by world travel magazines. Typically, the capital Hanoi - a thousand years of civilization, a city for peace was honored as "Asia's leading city tourism destination"; Sa Pa town (Lao Cai) was voted by the international travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler as one of the 50 most beautiful small towns in the world, one of the 10 most attractive tourist destinations in Southeast Asia, top 28 most attractive destinations in the world; Lai Chau is known as a land of cultural diversity, unique festivals, rich cuisine and majestic natural scenery... Meanwhile, the provinces of Van Son - Dali - So Hung - Kunming - Ngoc Khe - Hong Ha (China) in the Red River basin also have many famous landscapes, historical relics and unique cultural features associated with the Red River that can attract tourists.

Establishment of cross-border tourism alliance in the Red River basin between Vietnam and China.

“Localities in the Red River basin have many advantages to exploit and develop cross-border tourism, bearing the strong imprint of friendship and cooperation between localities of Vietnam and Yunnan province, China. Not only suggesting, Lao Cai province will continue to implement solutions to promote the development of tourism in the Red River basin, meeting the needs of tourists to visit, learn, explore and experience” – Mr. Hiep affirmed.

The Red River continues to flow, the need to explore and experience new lands of domestic and international tourists also does not stop. With creativity and leadership, we believe that Lao Cai province will continue to play a good role and position in connecting to promote tourism development along the Red River and bring interesting and unique experiences on the journey of discovery along the mother river.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/ket-noi-du-lich-cac-tinh-doc-song-hong-post399498.html