Utilising cultural values to promote tourism development

BHG - Preserving and utilising cultural values ​​to develop the tourism industry under the motto of "Utilising culture to develop tourism, utilising tourism to preserve and develop culture" is the direction that Ha Giang Province has followed in order to turn tourism into spearhead economic sector and position the Ha Giang tourism brand on the tourism maps of Vietnam and the world.

Visitors to the Mong ethnic culture and community-based tourism village in Pa Vi Ha Hamlet, Pa Vi Commune,Meo Vac District, will certainly enjoy interesting experiences.

Foreign tourists learn about traditional musical instruments at the Mong Ethnic Cultural Festival in Meo Vac District.

The village is home to of a complex of houses built in the traditional architectural style of the Mong ethnic group, which can be seen in ground-level houses with solid earthen walls surrounded by solid stone fences.

Currently, 17 households in the village are providing accommodation and food services.

In particular, visitors to the village can experience many attractive activities such as weaving linen, knittingbaskets, and making Mong flutes.

Imbued with the cultural identity of the Mong ethnic people, the village is gaining greater interest from domestic and foreign tourists as the number of travellers has been increasingin recent years. On average, the village welcomes over 150,000 visitors each year, with tourism revenue of over 50 billion VND.

Similarly, located 5 km from the centre of Ha Giang City, Tha Village in Phuong Do Commune has become popular to many tourists thanks to its rustic, poetic, and peaceful beauty.

The whole village has 132 households and 99% of the population is Tay ethnic.

Notably, the villagers have well preserved the cultural identity of their ethnic group such as traditional costumes, Then folk singing melodies, Tinh lute, and traditional architecture of thatched-roof stilt houses.

Thanks to its advantages regarding traditional culture, 8 households in the village are now running homestay business and providing tourist activities.

Since 2021, the village has welcomed nearly 5,000 visitors, with tourism revenue reaching nearly 1.5 billion VND.

Implementing the policy of integrating tourism development with preserving the cultural identity of ethnic groups, in recent years, Ha Giang Province has focused on developing community-based tourism in a sustainable manner, including the construction of community-based tourism and cultural villages to create highlights to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

To date, the whole province has 40 community-based tourism and cultural villages. Each village attracts an average of about 10,000 visitors each year,with the annual revenue of local homestay facilities in these villages estimated at over 70 million VND on average.

Currently, the province has 131 tangible cultural heritages and 446 intangible cultural heritages, of which 61 tangible cultural heritages and 32 intangible cultural heritages have been recognised at the national and provincial levels.

In addition, many cultural customs, practices, and traditional festivals of ethnic minorities have been collected, preserved, and promoted, creating a rich and diverse culture of ethnic minorities in the province.