Tourists to Dien Bien province. (Photo: VNA)

Dien Bien (VNA) – With its potential and advantages, the northwestern province of Dien Bien is striving to turn tourism into an economic spearhead.

According a resolution adopted at the provincial Party Congress for 2020-2025, Dien Bien’s tourism development will be based on the main pillars of historical and spiritual tourism, cultural and eco-tourism, and resort and medical tourism.

The complex of the Dien Bien Phu battlefield shows the vestiges of the Dien Bien Phu victory on the afternoon of May 7, 1954, which played a decisive role in ending the resistance war against French colonialists.

With 45 relics, the complex has attracted crowds of visitors and it has been seen as a magnet to tourists.

Besides, Dien Bien is home to 19 ethnic groups, each boasting its own cultural traits, along with 33 cultural relic sites that have won either national or provincial recognition, and 18 national intangible cultural heritage elements, including UNESCO-recognised Thai Xoe dance art and Then singing.

Tua Chua district is projected to become a national tourist site, and form part of the Dien Bien – Son La – Lai Chau tourism connectivity.

🅘 To spur local tourism and affirm its brand, Dien Bien has organised a range of activities like the Ban Flower Festival, the En boat racing festival and a paragliding event.

Last year, the number of tourists to Dien Bien hits a record high of 1 million, up nearly 25% year-on-year. (Photo: VNA)

The Ban Flower Festival, a highlight of the National Tourism Year 2024, is set to open in the province on March 16.

Spanning from March 13 to 18, the festival boasts a diverse lineup of activities, including an incense offering ceremony at the Dien Bien Phu martyrs' memorial temple, the launch of the National Tourism Year 2024 featuring a music extravaganza and a high-altitude fireworks display, and a photo contest showcasing the resplendent Ban flower landscape. The event also hosts a show of traditional costumes of ethnic groups, an ethnic sports competition, an exhibition featuring cultural and tourism products, and activities to connect tours and travel routes.

💮 Festival-goers can expect to immerse themselves in the rich cultural tapestry of the northwestern mountainous region, with offerings such as a market space spotlighting distinctive local agricultural products, a competition featuring traditional folk games like seesawing, con throwing, stilt walking, blindfolded tag, and sack racing.

Additionally, traditional folk songs, dances and music, including the unique art forms of Then and Xoe performed by ethnic groups like the Thai, Tay, Mong, Ha Nhi, Kho Mu, Xi La, Lao, and Xa Phang, will be performed.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Thi Thanh Chuyen said since 2021, Dien Bien has injected over 8 trillion VND (325.72 million USD) in infrastructure development associated with tourism development.

Last year, the number of tourists to the province hit a record high of 1 million, up nearly 25% year-on-year. Its tourism revenue exceeded 1.75 trillion VND, according to the official, calling the figures a rosy sign for local tourism to create breakthroughs this year.

In 2024 when Dien Bien hosts the National Tourism Year, the locality expects to welcome 1.3 million visitors and earn some 2.2 trillion VND from the sector. The numbers are set to reach more than 1.45 million and 2.38 trillion VND, respectively, in 2025.

Notably, the expansion of the Dien Bien Airport was completed in late 2023, giving a huge push to local tourism to take off.

Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy General Director of Vietjet Air, pledged that apart from domestic flights, the carrier will operate those from Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Australia and European nations to Dien Bien.

🔯 Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Le Thanh Do said in 2024, with nearly 170 major events, Dien Bien will create new opportunities to call for investment in tourism, thus creating breakthroughs in socio-economic development./.