Sa Pa resort welcomes 65,000 visitors during New Year holiday

Lao Cai (VNA) - The resort town of Sa Pa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai received approximately 65,000 arrivals over three days during the New Year holiday.

This is equivalent to 95 percent of the last year’s figure, but is a good signal for recovery of the local tourism sector, Hoang Thi Vuong, head of the Sa Pa culture and information division said.

The occupancy rate at local hotels and guest houses was at 100 percent during the first days of the year.

To attract more tourists to Sa Pa, the resort town has worked with relevant companies to organise events promoting local tourism in numerous localities.

Located 350km northwest of Hanoi capital city, Sa Pa is 1,600m high above sea level, with the average temperature of 15-18°C. The whole town is dominated by the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, which is famous with Indochina’s highest mountain of Fansipan at a height of 3,142m above sea level.

Discovered in 1903 by the French, Sa Pa has many natural scenic sites such as Ham Rong Mountain, Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall), Cau May (Rattan Bridge), Bamboo Forest and Ta Phin Cave. The hill town is home to six main ethnic minority groups, including Kinh, Hmong, Dao, Tay, Day and Xa Pho with various traditional festivals and unique cultural practices, especially the Bac Ha market and Sa Pa love market.

Sa Pa targets to welcome 3 million visitors this year./.