Sa Pa - Lessons gained in dealing with
tourist overload at destinations

Presenter: MA Hoang Thi Vuong
Sapa's Culture and Information Department HeadThe primary contents:
1. General introduction to Sa Pa
2. Situation of tourism development in Sa Pa
3. Difficulties - obstacles
4. Development strategy for the years 2020-2025, witha focus on 2030.
5. Lessons Learned

I. SA PA OVERVIEWS
Is a young mountainous town, located in the northwest of Lao Cai
province.
Economy: Growth 13.8%

Budget revenue: 1,070.79 billion VND ( Tourism and services: >60%)

About population: 68,302 people; 6 ethnicity: Mong, Dao. Tay, Giay , Xa Pho ; Kinh

II. Sa Pa tourism development situation
Sa Pa Tourism
Potentials

Majestic
naturallandscapeCharacteristic
climate,EthnicallyuniquecultureSapa's role in regional connectivity
In Northern Region

Within province

Northern mountainous provinces'
tourism nucleus

National key tourist area;

Located in the heartof the East-West corridor
Located on the KunmingLao Cai-Hanoi-Quang Ninh-Hai
Phong

Subtropical agricultural areas;
Key agricultural regions based onhighland climate characteristics;
Important national nature reservearea.

II. Sa Pa Tourism (cont…)
From 2015 to 2020:

Outstanding growthin both quality and quantity:

From 2020 to now:

The growth rate reached 20%, and overall
revenue from tourists climbed by morethan 40% year on year.

2020- Apr 2022: Covid 19 has had asignificant influence.

In 2019, Sa Pa received 3.3 million
visitors, and tourism earnings totaled
9,300 billion VND.

May up to now: Tourism will shortly
recover: New tourism products andevents=> It has the highest rate of tourism
growth and investor attraction in theNorthwest.

First 09 months of 2023:• Total tourists arrival: 2,888,860• Total tourism revenue: 9,980 billion VND.

Tourism Facilities
Total
1.340
711
Accommodation

283
F&B

190
souvenir
Shops

67

Massage,herbalbath

27

TransportationCompany13
Karaoke08
National
scenicspot

41
Touristdestinaltion

II. Sa Pa Tourism (cont…)• It is one of the first district in Vietnam to promote CBT aimed atalleviating hunger and poverty.
• Welcoming between 800,000 and 1,400,000 visitors/year/community• Services are gradually spreading into new regions.
SỐTTChỉ tiêuĐVTNăm2010Năm2015

năm
2019

Năm
2022

1

Số cơ sở kinh doanh homestay

Cơ sở

94

108306364

2Dịch vụ ăn uốngCơ sở

2531255

126

3Hàng lưu niệm, thổ cẩmCơ sở

614284157

4

Tắm thuốc/ massage

Cơ sở

5995

39

5

Dịch vụ khác

Cơ sở

34

120

256

222

164

282

1.196

808

Tổng

=> Creat positive changes in economic-cultural-social life of Sa Pa's ethnic
minority...

II. Sa Pa Tourism (cont…)• Tourism creates good environment to restoreand develop traditional crafts of ethnic groupsII. Sa Pa Tourism (cont…)
Tourism contributes to preserving the culturalidentity of ethnic groupsII. Sa Pa Tourism (cont…)• Tourism creates new job opportunities
for villagers: tour guides, porters, hotel
receptionists, room service, security...

HORNERING TITLES- TOP 100 most beautiful towns in the world.
- TOP 14 must-see destinations in Asia
- TOP 10 most attractive tourist destinations in Southeast Asia.
- Top 7 most beautiful and magnificent terraced fields in the world;- Top 10 most beautiful trails in the world;- The most challenging marathon race on the planet.
- The world's leading cultural tourism destination and attractive natural attraction.

III. Difficulties - Obstacles
The rapid increase in tourist arrival puts strain on infrastructure.
The development of projects and construction works has an impact on the ecologicalbalance and the terrain.
Traditional cultural identities are being lost as a result of increased urbanization, andthe risk of environmental degradation is considerable.
Tourists' needs are not met by specialized tourism facilities and tourism products.
Ethnic minorities rarely gain directly from tourism activities since community tourism
develops organically.

III. Difficulties - ObstaclesTourism activities continue to take place on a haphazard basis.
There are insufficient structures and resources to support community tourist
destinations
Lacks cultural institutions and sports training facilities.
Tourism human resources are few and underutilized, and professionalism is low especially because Covid 19
Promotion work has yet to reach prospective markets.

IV. Development strategy to 2025, focus on 2030
Principle:
Tourism development goes hand inhand with preserving the cultural
identity of ethnic minorities;
Maximize advantages of naturalconditions (climate, landscape);
Ensuring security, national defense,and responding to climate change;
Natural disaster prevention andcontrol and environmental protection.

Target :Building Sa Pa into an international mountain resort andcultural tourism center with synchronous tourism
infrastructure; Modern, quality tourism services; uniqueand rich tourism products; Professional and friendly tourism
human resources; Meets ASEAN clean tourism urban
standards; be able to compete in the region and the world;
Enhance the application of 4.0 technology in management,
administration, promotion and promotion of tourism;
Building the brand and image of Sa Pa National Tourist Areaaccording to the standards of "ASEAN Clean TourismUrban"....”

IV. Development strategy (Cont…)
Rezone the tourism
space, creating
unique features foreach area.

Forming satellite
tourist destinations
to reduce tourist
load at traditional
destinations.

Expanding space tocommunity tourism
destinations =>enhancing guest
experience; expand
employment
opportunities.

Form spaces that
support tourism:
agriculture,
medicinal herbs...

1. Tourism planningIV. Development strategy (Cont…)
2. Invested in tourism infrastructure

Concurrently
construct roadinfrastructure andparking spaces toconnect tourismInvest in 07 key
infrastructure toguarantee it meets
the ASEAN CleanTourism Urban Arearequirements;

Install boards, signs,diagrams, hoardings,banners, signs, lightboxes, andadvertising screensin accordance withlogo, brand, color,and language
guidelines...

Completion oftourism-related
cultural buildings:
Square, Event
Center, Stadium,Cinema, Library,
Cultural Center, andSa Pa Museum

IV. Development strategy (Cont…)- Apply international standards in training activities
to standardize tourism human resources in Sa Pa
National Tourist Area;

3. Upgraded Humanresources- Diversify training forms; Prioritize training and useof local human resources;- Raise awareness about developing Sa Pa National
Tourist Area at an international level, improving ITlevels, and implementing 4.0 technology in tourism.

IV. Development strategy (Cont…)"Sa Pa - The Land of Experiencing and Learning
Traditional Culture"

4. Built up
UniqueTourism
products :"Mountain Resort Paradise, Health Recovery"- "Sa Pa - the land of attractive hiking and adventure
sports tours"- Spiritual tourism associated with ruins of temples andpagodas in the area;- Sa Pa love market, experiencing Sa Pa terraced fields;
agriculture-related ecotourism;- "Sa Pa - the capital of art"

IV. Development strategy (Cont…)- Brand recognition toolkit for Sa Pa tourism;

5. Diverse
forms oftourism
promotion- Unique branded cultural events- Famtrip and Media trip
- Special promotional programs => overcome tourism
seasonality;- Promotion suitable for each market segment.

V. Lessons Learned
Great political will, with the participation of all key parties.
Prioritize good planning implementation and synchronized infrastructure investment.
Research and successfully investigate each region's unique tourism resources (bothcultural and natural) hence increasing competitiveness.
Training and development of human resources capable of managing and operating from adestination
Carry out tourist promotion job effectively, especially for newly developed tourism
destinations/products.

Sa PaEffective + Attractive => Competitive=> A National Tourist Site with International Standards