Terraced rice fields in Muong Hoa Valley, Lao Cai seen from a cable car to Fansipan Mount. (Photo: VNA) Lao Cai (VNA) - The northern province ofLao Cai, home to the popular holiday town of Sa Pa, has set a target of welcoming5 million visitors this year and earning more than 16 trillion VND (696.17million USD) in tourism revenue.
To realise the target, it will bolster digitaltransformation in the sector and restructure the market and tourism products inkeeping with conserving the local cultural identity.
The province will exert efforts to attract more domesticholidaymakers.
Sa Pa has long been among the country’s leadingdestinations. Of note, young people accounted for more than 70 percent oftourist arrivals to the town in 2020, according to Vice Chairman of Lao CaiTourism Association Le Anh Dai.
Lao Cai also aims to devise 130 new tourism productsto meet demand from tourists and encourage them to return in the future.
The province has been one of the pioneeringlocalities in digital transformation in tourism. Local authorities joined handswith Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) to roll out a customisedsmart eco-tourism, which is accessible at http://laocaitourism.vn and on amobile app.
The portal has had more than 1 million visits sinceits launch.
Lao Cai’s tourism sector bore the brunt of the ill-effectsof the pandemic and welcomed just 2.2 million visitors last year, down by morethan half against 2019./.
