At the end of December 2023, the Provincial People's Committee approved the report on the results of the statistical survey on tourist information in Lao Cai in 2023. The results collected from the survey with "telling" numbers outlined a picture of Lao Cai tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic, with advantages, development potential as well as issues that need to be solved in Lao Cai tourism in the coming time.
The survey results show that tourists who arrange their own trips in individual groups (not on tours) account for 66.53%, tourists who travel on tours account for less (33.47%). It can be seen that individual tourists are a potential group that Lao Cai tourism needs to continue to target in the coming period.
Tourist Nguyen Thi Phuong Oanh ( Hanoi ) said: After the Covid-19 pandemic, my family did not choose to travel on a tour but went on their own. Traveling by private car limits large gatherings, and the schedule is also easy to change and flexible according to the preferences of the members.
It is not difficult to see that after the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism trends have changed a lot, such as green tourism, on-site tourism, eco-tourism, healing tourism... Especially self-arranged travel in small groups has become a new favorite experience trend and this is a common trend among young people.
One of the reasons for the increase in individual group tourism comes from the characteristics of Lao Cai tourism. Currently, the route from Sa Pa connecting to the Lao Cai - Hanoi highway and the Red River Delta is much more convenient than before. Along with that, the development of information technology as well as travel applications and social networks helps tourists to be proactive, easily choose and design their own trips.
Lao Cai has the advantage of natural landscape and cool climate, top mountains, upstream rivers, imbued with the indigenous culture of 25 ethnic groups along with many unique tourism products, traditional festivals... attracting tourists in general and individual tourists in particular to Lao Cai. Community tourism products, exploratory tourism, eco-tourism, and festival tourism are activities that tourists are interested in.
In particular, Lao Cai province has Sa Pa National Tourist Area with a history of formation and development of more than 120 years; Y Ty "cloud hunting" paradise; Bac Ha white plateau famous for Bac Ha wine products, Tam Hoa plums and the traditional horse racing tournament that has become a brand... These are the highlights that attract visitors to Lao Cai. In addition, Lao Cai currently has 36 tourist areas and spots. The tourist spots are not too far apart, the connected transportation network creates opportunities for visitors to explore and experience many tourist spots and tourism products on one route. This is also one of the factors that makes individual groups choose Lao Cai as a destination.
Tourists arranging their own trips in small groups has become an inevitable trend as digital transformation is increasingly strong, moving to a closer product ecosystem and interacting on social networking platforms.
To continue to reach individual groups of tourists, in the coming time, Lao Cai tourism management agencies will strengthen the management of tourism activities to prevent units and individuals from organizing tourism programs for tourists without a travel license. At the same time, develop tourism products suitable for groups of tourists who arrange their own tours, such as eco-tourism and resort products; promote the application of 4.0 technology in tourism activities so that tourists can easily access and book services.
At the same time, travel agencies need to innovate their approach to customers, design combos of airline tickets and hotels, or open airline ticket and hotel booking services to support tourists. In addition, they need to increase their search, survey, and launch new product sets suitable for the market to attract tourists to book tours.
Mr. Ha Van Thang, Director of the Department of Tourism, said: In the long term, Lao Cai tourism has oriented its development strategy for the period up to 2030, with a vision to 2050, with the goal of attracting tourists according to market segments, focusing on exploiting markets with high spending capacity. Segment the market according to tourism purposes and payment capacity to focus on attracting; prioritize attracting tourist segments with high spending capacity, with pure tourism purposes, and long-term stays.
Market development contents include: Strongly developing the domestic market, especially the markets in the Red River Delta, the Northeast Coast, the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City. Focusing on the market associated with the development of the economic corridor of Kunming - Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh. Promoting the development of international markets, attracting and strongly developing the nearby international tourist market, including Northeast Asia (Japan, Korea), Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia); enhancing the exploitation of the high-end tourist market from Western Europe and Eastern Europe; at the same time expanding new markets (Middle East, India).
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