Lao Cai lures nearly 3 million tourists in six months
The northwestern mountainous province of Lao Cai, known for its picturesque mountains, rivers, waterfalls and rich culture of ethnic hill tribes, welcomed nearly 500,000 visitors each month in the first half of 2019.
Lao Cai (VNA) – The northwestern mountainousprovince of Lao Cai, known for its picturesque mountains, rivers, waterfalls andrich culture of ethnic hill tribes, welcomed nearly 500,000 visitorseach month in the first half of 2019.
In total, the locality attracted nearly 3 million touristsin six months, fulfilling 58.1 percent of the locality’s yearly target andrepresenting a rise of 12.5 percent year on year.
Of the total, international visitors numbered 459,000, arise of 15.6 percent against the same time last year.
The locality’s tourism revenue in the period reached over11.25 trillion VND, equivalent to 58.7 percent of the yearly target and up 51.3percent over the same period last year.
Notably, the Sa Pa national tourism area lured more than 1.6million visitors in the first half of this year, completing 55.5 percent of thetarget for the whole year, accounting for 57 percent of the total number ofvisitors to the province.
This year, Lao Cai targets 5 million visitors.
To this end, the province has carried out policies designed topromote tourism and service sector.
Besides working to turn Sa Pa urban area and the Lao Caicity into tourism-service centre, the province is investing in developing otherdestinations like Bat Xat, Bac Ha, Bao Yen and Van Ban. It has also linked up withother localities in tourism development and foster cooperation within theKunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh economic corridor and eightnorthwestern provinces’ collaboration.
Lao Cai has also set up tourism partnership with Hanoi, HoChi Minh City and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France.
In the rest of the year, Lao Cai will continue with tourismpromotion activities such as organising international tourism events to luremore tourists, along with an investment and tourism promotion conference andthe Vietnam-China trade-tourism fair.-VNA
In recent years, local ethnic minorities in the northern mountainous provinces have joined in developing community tourism, which has helped them improve their living conditions.
The height of the Fansipan peak in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, the highest mountain in Indochina, was actually 3,147.3 metres, according to the Department of Survey Mapping and Geographic Information under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
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By source market, China continued to lead with 3.1 million visitors, equivalent to 25.5% of all foreign arrivals. The Republic of Korea followed with 2.5 million, or 20.7%. Other major markets included Taiwan (China) with 737,000, the US with 522,000, and Japan with 380,000.
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A view of Sa Pa town in Lao Cai (Photo: VNA) 
