Lai Chau: Preserving and promoting traditional cultural identities of ethnic groups associated with tourism development

Lai Chau tourism is gradually affirming its role as a key economic sector through a development strategy that closely links the preservation of national cultural identity and the promotion of sustainable tourism. With a rich and unique traditional cultural treasure and a flexible approach, Lai Chau is turning cultural values into competitive advantages, creating a driving force for socio-economic growth, especially in the tourism sector.

Advantages from nature and cultural depth

Lai Chau is endowed by nature with many unique advantages for tourism development with diverse terrain, majestic landscapes, fresh climate all year round and rich ecosystem. Places such as O Quy Ho pass - one of the four great mountain passes in Vietnam, Pu Si Lung peak - the roof of the Fatherland's border, Sin Ho plateau floating in the morning mist or Sin Suoi Ho and Si Thau Chai villages hidden in the old forest... have long attracted tourists who love to explore, love nature and want to find pristine experiences.

The traditional costumes of the Lu ethnic group in Lai Chau have unique beauty from their shape to their decorative patterns. (Photo: Alden Anderson)

The diverse culture with strong identity also creates a unique competitiveness for Lai Chau Tourism. There are currently 20 ethnic groups living together in the province, of which ethnic minorities account for more than 84.6% of the population, with 13 groups living in communities such as Thai, Mong, Dao, Ha Nhi, La Hu, Lu... Each ethnic group carries within itself a rich cultural treasure, from language, writing, festivals, architecture, costumes, cuisine , to crafts, folk performing arts and indigenous knowledge.

All of these factors have created a Lai Chau Tourism with its own unique identity, where visitors not only come to admire the landscape, but also to deeply experience the local cultural life.

Bringing culture into tourism development

In recent years, Lai Chau province has made remarkable progress in preserving and exploiting traditional cultural values to serve tourism development. The province currently has 11 national intangible cultural heritages and 2 heritages recognized by UNESCO as Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, namely Then Art and Thai Xoe Dance - a pride not only of Lai Chau people but also of the entire Vietnamese nation.

The art of beeswax painting on fabric of the Mong ethnic group.

Along with collecting, teaching, and restoring heritage, the province has cleverly integrated cultural elements into community tourism products in Sin Suoi Ho village, Si Thau Chai village, Hon village, Na Khuong village... Traditional festivals such as Tu Cai Festival of the Dao people, Then Kin Pang Festival, Gau Tao... are held annually, becoming highlights in the journey to discover the identity of the Northwest. Activities to experience traditional crafts, folk festivals, traditional cuisine, ethnic art performances, and accommodation in stilt houses... help visitors deeply feel the local cultural life, contributing to creating a tourism ecosystem with a strong cultural imprint.

In particular, Lai Chau has made remarkable progress when Sin Suoi Ho tourist village was recognized as a 3-star OCOP product and won the "ASEAN Community Tourism" Award at the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2023. This is a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of the connection between cultural preservation and community tourism development.

In addition, the movement of “All people unite to build a cultural life” and mass cultural activities are increasingly developing strongly. More than 975 mass cultural teams are maintained in villages, contributing to the development of the folk culture of ethnic minorities and serving as a bridge connecting tourists with local culture. The province also pays special attention to preserving culture in schools, with 100% of schools maintaining and developing cultural, artistic and sports activities in schools, building cultural spaces for typical ethnic groups; 45 schools have established and maintained effective and practical activities of clubs to preserve and promote the fine traditional cultural identities of ethnic groups.

Strong movement from policy to action

Immediately after the Provincial Resolution on cultural preservation associated with tourism development was issued in 2021, a series of specific projects and plans were quickly implemented. Notably, the Project "Preserving and promoting the fine cultural identities of ethnic groups associated with tourism development in Lai Chau province, period 2021-2025, orientation to 2030", with the goal of arousing and promoting the potential values and cultural heritage, aiming to form a number of typical ethnic cultural spaces, building a cultural environment, and a healthy cultural life among the people. At the same time, the project aims to mobilize investment resources, manage, protect, exploit and promote traditional cultural values associated with tourism development, contributing to promoting socio-economic development and expanding foreign relations.

Next, the Plan for implementing the Tourism System Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, was issued. Lai Chau aims to welcome more than 1.4 million tourists by 2025, including over 35,000 international visitors, with tourism revenue reaching over VND 1,200 billion. By 2030, the goal is to attract over 2.4 million visitors, including over 56,000 international visitors; making tourism an important economic sector, with a synchronous infrastructure system, diverse, high-quality products, branded and imbued with cultural identity. In particular, Sin Ho and O Quy Ho plateaus are oriented to develop into national tourist areas, contributing to making Lai Chau an attractive destination in the Northwest region and the whole country.

Along with that, the Tourism Stimulus Program is implemented synchronously with the message "Lai Chau - Come to love". The highlight of this program is the connection between culture, tourism and communication through a series of large-scale events organized such as: Lai Chau Tourism - Culture Week 2025; Lai Chau Culture - Tourism Week in Can Tho; Workshop on building and promoting Lai Chau's trekking and hiking products; regional linkage activities, expanding tourism space and building stimulus product packages; promoting tourism promotion. In particular, tourism products associated with ethnic culture such as community tourism, trekking to conquer peaks, culinary tourism, and agricultural tourism become the focus of development.

Mass cultural activities are growing stronger and stronger.

To realize strategic goals, Lai Chau synchronously deploys many key groups of solutions: integrating tourism development goals into socio-economic strategies; perfecting specific policies on cultural preservation; building unique tourism products associated with national cultural identity, developing community tourism associated with the OCOP program; investing in tourism infrastructure, developing unique tourism products, promoting promotion, applying digital transformation and building tourism brands. Along with that, the province focuses on human resource training; preserving and promoting tangible and intangible cultural heritage; strengthening regional connectivity and expanding international cooperation; attracting investment, effectively mobilizing social resources for tourism development associated with cultural preservation.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/lai-chau-bao-ton-va-phat-huy-ban-sac-van-hoa-truyen-thong-cac-dan-toc-gan-voi-phat-trien-du-lich-20250723094508944.htm