Railway tourism through Lao Cai - opportunities and challenges

Traveling by train to Lao Cai to visit famous tourist destinations such as Sa Pa, Bac Ha or to China is an option for many tourists. In the face of the development trend, promoting tourism by train is a problem that needs to find a precise solution.

The railway through Lao Cai is an important link on the Dien - Viet railway, inaugurated in 1910 connecting Kunming (China) to Hai Phong port. This project, considered a special work in modern world history, has contributed to making Lao Cai an international gateway as it is today.

The Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway is over 100 years old.

However, according to Mr. Duong Tuan Nghia - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Lao Cai province, since 2014, after the Noi Bai Expressway opened, trains have completely lost their role as the main means of transport for tourists to Lao Cai, especially because it is difficult to compete with cars in terms of speed, mobility and convenience. "The railway industry is a service industry, if we do not provide good service and do not put the interests of tourists first, it will be very difficult to continue to attract tourists."

Statistics show that the number of train passengers in recent years has remained at a very modest level, reaching just over 200,000 in 2023. Currently, on the Lao Cai - Hanoi route, there is only one pair of trains running in the outbound and return directions, with the carriages mainly rented by travel companies.

According to Mr. Le Minh Tuan - Deputy General Director of Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company, trains still retain advantages such as high safety; tourists have the opportunity to sightsee along the journey; stations are all centrally located; train schedules are stable, the rate of departures and arrivals is high; the ability to transport large passengers, with spacious spaces for interaction and activities... While improving train speed is difficult to solve in the short term, the task of upgrading carriages, stations, and service quality needs to be prioritized to retain and attract train passengers.

Lao Cai station.

Mr. Hoang Dinh Tu - Director of Vietnam Railways Branch - the unit operating Lao Cai railway, said that the development space of the railway industry is still large, financial resources may be limited but policy and mechanism resources are not limited. In recent times, the units of the industry have made many innovations to suit the trend, in addition to upgrading services, they have also strengthened connections and promoted cooperation with related industries to build complete and professional tours. "The issue of promotion and communication needs to be put first. Because we do well but if the communication is not good, the image will not reach tourists".

The carriages are mainly rented by travel companies, decorated in their own style.

According to Mr. Ha Van Thang - Director of Lao Cai Provincial Department of Tourism, in the immediate future, the tourism industry is looking for ways to bring more unique products of Lao Cai such as brocade, OCOP products, culture - arts... into the railway ecosystem to enhance the experience for tourists.

Regarding the speed factor, from now until 2030, the Central Government has a policy of prioritizing investment in the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong high-speed railway project, which, once completed, promises to create a breakthrough.

However, Mr. Thang also said that, not only is it meaningful in simple transportation, the 100-year-old railway line in Lao Cai also "carries" historical and cultural stories. In 1958, from Gia Lam station, Uncle Ho also took a train on this line to visit the ethnic people of Lao Cai. Therefore, the process of investing and upgrading the railway can be considered in conjunction with conservation, which will also create great value in tourism development.

Railway staff take photos for tourists.

"We can preserve the routes and stations that still have historical value from long ago, which will also become very attractive products. This is an issue that must be studied to harmonize preservation, promotion and modern development," said Mr. Ha Van Thang.

It is known that recently, Lao Cai has had the idea of building a dossier to recognize the Dien-Viet railway connecting Yunnan - Vietnam as a world heritage. However, the implementation process encountered difficulties in funding as well as requiring close coordination among all three countries including Vietnam, China and France.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/du-lich-duong-sat-qua-lao-cai-co-hoi-va-thach-thuc-post386113.html