Lo Lo Chai bustles with visitors after being honored as 'World's Best Tourist Village 2025'

The owner of the homestay Nha Cua Nhim said that everyone in the village was happier and busier after receiving the international award.

Surpassing more than 270 applications from 65 countries, two Vietnamese villages, Lo Lo Chai and Quynh Son (Bac Son commune, Lang Son province), were honored as " World's Best Tourist Village 2025" by UN Tourism announced on October 17 in Huzhou City, China.

Ms. Dinh Thi Nhim - owner of the homestay Nha cua Nhim in Lo Lo Chai village shared: "Since hearing the news that the village was honored, the atmosphere in the village has become happier. More guests have come, and the homestays are also busy preparing to welcome them. I am happy because Nha cua Nhim is also a small part of that common joy."

According to Nhim, the number of visitors has increased but they are still mainly Vietnamese. International visitors usually only visit during the day and rarely stay overnight due to paperwork. Each foreign visitor who stays needs to apply for a temporary residence permit which costs about $10 (about VND260,000), so the cost increases quite a bit.

A corner of Lo Lo Chai village - the village that was just honored as "The best tourist village in the world 2025"

PHOTO: LE HONG KHANH

This season, the weather in Lo Lo Chai has started to get cold, preparing to enter the buckwheat flower season, so the number of visitors will increase sharply from November to April every year. Nhim's house currently has 10 rooms, accommodating about 28 guests, and is almost fully booked on weekends. "Friday night is the happiest time in the village. Everyone gathers at the cultural house, there is music, Lo Lo ethnic dance, and then a campfire with tourists," Nhim said excitedly.

Coming to Ha Giang (old, now Tuyen Quang province) on a trip four years ago, Ms. Nhim decided to stay and work in tourism. At first, she worked as a housekeeper for a homestay, then opened Nhim's House for more than a year now. "Now the whole village is doing tourism more synchronously, with clear regulations on construction such as houses not exceeding two floors, must have yin-yang tile roofs, and have full residence papers to preserve the traditional features of the Lo Lo people," she said.

Traditional costumes of the Lo Lo ethnic group

PHOTO: LE HONG KHANH

Another homestay owner in Lo Lo Chai was skeptical when he heard that his village was honored. But when he confirmed that it was true, he and the people here burst into tears. This is not only the pride of the entire Lo Lo people.

The weather is chilly, buckwheat flowers are in flower season, homestays in the village are busy welcoming guests

PHOTO: LE HONG KHANH

Lo Lo Chai village has been developing community tourism for many years, combining the preservation of traditional architecture (earthen houses, yin-yang tiled roofs), upgrading social environmental infrastructure and preparing candidacy documents. With 120 households, mainly Lo Lo ethnic group, of which about 56 households participate in the community tourism model, the village has long been prepared to develop tourism.

On the Quynh Son side, the community tourism model here has also been active in preserving Tay culture, developing homestay accommodation services, experiencing agriculture, indigenous cuisine and green, clean, and environmentally friendly infrastructure.

Upon hearing the news that Lo Lo Chai (Ha Giang) and Quynh Son (Lang Son) were honored as "World's Best Tourist Villages 2025", Mr. Quang Tuan, owner of Thai Hai community tourism village (Thai Nguyen - another village that was honored with the same award in 2022) expressed his joy and pride. He said that this is a good sign for Vietnamese community tourism, affirming the position and cultural identity of Vietnamese villages that are increasingly recognized internationally.

After being honored by UN Tourism in 2022, Mr. Tuan said the number of visitors to Thai Hai increased sharply, especially international visitors, helping the village's brand become more widely known.

Children in Thai Hai village (Thai Nguyen) - a Vietnamese village that was also honored at a similar award in 2022

"The international award helps us to be more confident and reassured that the path we are taking is the right one. Before, we were often worried about whether the development direction was sustainable. Now, from the central to local levels, everyone is interested in supporting the promotion, expanding roads, and creating conditions for the people. People are also proud of and love their traditional culture more," he added.

Vietnam has 5 villages recognized as "The best tourist villages in the world" including: Thai Hai village (Thai Nguyen), Tan Hoa (Quang Tri), Tra Que vegetable village (Da Nang), and most recently Lo Lo Chai village (Tuyen Quang) and Quynh Son village (Lang Son).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chu-homestay-o-lo-lo-chai-ron-rang-don-khach-sau-khi-duoc-vinh-danh-185251026180437143.htm