Discussing solutions to promote the development of mountain resort tourism in Vietnam

On the morning of October 16, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism held a workshop on "Developing mountain resort tourism in Vietnam".

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong - Director of the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism emphasized that "Developing mountain resort tourism in Vietnam" is a topic that is both theoretical and highly practical, closely linked to the vision of sustainable development of the culture, sports and tourism industry in the new context.

In the new development period of the country, Vietnam Tourism is strongly transforming towards a greener, more creative and people-centered direction. If in the past, we focused on expanding the scale and increasing the number of destinations, now, the story of tourism development is not just "going to many places" but "living deeper in each experience". Developing sustainable mountain resort tourism is a clear manifestation of that trend.

Workshop "Developing mountain resort tourism in Vietnam"

With majestic natural landscapes, fresh climate, unique cultural identity of ethnic communities in the highlands - Vietnam has all the conditions to develop a type of tourism that both meets the needs of health care and relaxation, while nurturing the spirit and connecting cultures.

It is not only a natural advantage, but also a cultural resource – a valuable soft power that we need to identify, appreciate and promote with creative thinking and sustainable vision.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, mountain resort tourism is opening up many opportunities, but to become a driving force for regional and national development, we need to clearly recognize new requirements. Mountain resort development cannot be separated from the conservation of natural resources, indigenous culture and ensuring safety. This requires an integrated planning mindset, an interdisciplinary approach, and the active participation of local communities.

We need to shift our focus from “resource exploitation” to “value creation”, from “destination development” to “building a sustainable resort tourism ecosystem”. In which, science – technology, culture – arts, and innovation will be the pillars to improve product quality and competitiveness.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong delivered the opening speech at the workshop.

"Today's workshop is an opportunity to promote research, dialogue and propose policies to serve the sustainable development of the tourism industry. We hope that, from this forum, managers, experts, scientists and businesses will share practical experiences, research results and successful models at home and abroad - to clarify the development pillars of Vietnam's mountain resort tourism in the coming period.

The papers submitted to the Workshop showed multi-dimensional interest - from identifying potential and natural resources, to analyzing product development trends, and proposing policy solutions, planning, ensuring safety, building brands and developing communities. This is an important scientific basis for the Institute to continue advising and proposing to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on a strategy to develop mountain resort tourism in a comprehensive manner and with Vietnamese identity", Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong expressed.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, developing mountain resort tourism is not only about exploiting the advantages of terrain or climate, but also about building the image of Vietnam as a safe, humane, and culturally rich destination. It is a place where tourists not only come to rest, but also to experience, learn, heal and connect. We need to move towards the model of "mountain resort combined with indigenous cultural experience", where natural and human elements blend together in a sustainable living space.

This is also a direction in line with the goal of making tourism a spearhead economic sector, environmentally friendly and spreading Vietnamese cultural values.

Conference scene

Speaking at the conference, MSc. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - Director of the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism said that in the context of Vietnam's tourism making efforts to recover and develop strongly after the pandemic, the demand for types of resort tourism associated with nature, health care and cultural experiences is increasing. Mountain resort tourism - one of the specific sub-types - is becoming a trend that many localities and businesses are interested in.

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  Khanh Hoa: Promoting the strengths of resort tourism

With the advantage of majestic natural landscapes, diverse ecosystems, and unique indigenous cultural spaces, Vietnam's mountainous regions have great potential to develop high-quality, distinctive, and sustainable resort products.

According to MSc. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, Vietnam has a diverse terrain, with mountains, primeval forests, rivers and streams, and a majestic cave system, creating outstanding advantages for developing mountain tourism and outdoor activities. The potential of mountain resort tourism in Vietnam can be clearly seen in many aspects: Majestic natural landscapes, cool climate, diverse ecosystems, rich mineral, hydrological and forest resources; Diverse indigenous culture, rich in identity, with ethnic minorities creating unique values; Market trends increasingly focus on tourism oriented towards experiences, yoga, meditation, detox, combined with health care.

In the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030, products based on exploiting natural and cultural values ​​– especially mountain tourism combined with outdoor sports – are identified as a priority direction, promising to become a highlight attracting domestic and international tourists.

Currently, mountain resort tourism is strongly developing in the midland and mountainous areas of the North with many unique products: adventure tours to conquer high peaks such as Phan-xi-pang, Ky Quan San, Tay Con Linh; trekking, exploring caves and primeval forests in Hoang Lien and Ba Be National Parks; experiencing community culture, cloud hunting photography. In addition, the Central region with typical products of Phong Nha - Ke Bang cave (Quang Binh) or introducing experiences of Ba Na Hills (Quang Nam), Bach Ma mountain (Hue city), Langbiang mountain (Lam Dong) ... and the imprint of mountain tourism products in the Southern region at Ba Den mountain (Tay Ninh), Ba Ra mountain, Chua Chan (Dong Nai) ...

MSc. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong delivered the opening speech at the Workshop

According to MSc. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, in recent years, the tourism industry has made many efforts towards sustainable development of this special type of tourism. However, there are many barriers such as: Sensitive natural environment, vulnerable to over-exploitation; Limited transport infrastructure, facilities and utilities at many high mountain destinations; Risk of commercialization, fading of community cultural identity; Lack of policy framework and inter-sectoral management mechanism; Weak human resources for mountain tourism, community participation has not been fully promoted... are also significant challenges in the development process.

In the trend of globalization and international integration, developing mountain resort tourism is not only an inevitable direction but also an opportunity for Vietnam to promote its natural, cultural and human advantages; at the same time, harmoniously solve economic, social and environmental issues. Today's conference will be a place to gather the wisdom, experience and enthusiasm of many generations of scientists, experts, managers and businesses.

The workshop is expected to contribute to providing scientific arguments, practical recommendations, and at the same time create a forum connecting relevant parties. Through that, we can together build a strategy to develop green, safe, different and sustainable Vietnamese mountain resort tourism in the coming period.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/ban-giai-phap-thuc-day-phat-trien-du-lich-nghi-duong-nui-o-viet-nam-20251016103435209.htm