Na Su - an attractive destination

Mobilizing the people's strength to develop tourism.

From Dien Bien Phu city, traveling nearly 130km along National Highway 4H, crossing the flag-covered suspension bridge over the Nam Bai river, we arrived at Na Su village. Our first impression was the charming little road, decorated by the locals to welcome tourists staying in the village. Each house usually has a wooden sign and a QR code for checking essential travel information for visitors.

Leading us on a stroll along the village paths, admiring the well-maintained and clean traditional stilt houses, the Party Secretary of Na Su village, Lo Van Mai, happily said: “The unique and poetic cultural charm of Na Su today is all thanks to the contributions of the villagers. The people have actively renovated their houses, yards, and gardens, making them green, clean, and beautiful. To create an attractive highlight for tourists, the village authorities and people have worked together to build 9 large waterwheels and 8 small waterwheels along the irrigation canals; and constructed railings along the pond banks… The village has also built 11 bamboo huts with thatched walls and palm leaf roofs to serve as resting places and viewpoints around the curved embankment of the rice fields.”

Na Su village at night becomes even more poetic and enchanting amidst the mountains and forests, giving visitors a feeling of peace and simplicity, allowing them to enjoy and breathe in the fresh air. The entire village has installed 1,500 electric lights illuminating the internal village roads and along the embankment. The lighting system, approximately 800 meters long, is carved from wood and about 60cm high, providing sufficient light to illuminate the stone path. Simultaneously, the village has also leveled and improved the roads along the embankment, straightened the stream's flow, created flowerbeds and planted ornamental trees, encouraged households to register for fishing services, and established a tourism management team, a food team, and a performing arts group…

Besides its majestic natural beauty, visitors to Na Su can also explore and experience firsthand the daily life and production activities of the Thai ethnic people (White Thai branch) in the most authentic way; they can participate in preparing food, engaging in cultural and artistic exchanges, and resting with families in the village.

"When we started community-based tourism, the villagers were quite unfamiliar with it, but over time, through learning and gaining experience, the activities have become stable, and tourists visiting Na Su are satisfied with the services," said Mr. Poong Van Van, a resident of Na Su village.

Mr. Thung Van Anh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Cha Nua commune, shared: "The key factor contributing to the success of the Na Su community tourism model is the mobilization of the strength, unity, and consensus of the people. The people have actively contributed their efforts and resources to invest in building and improving the landscape, electricity infrastructure, accommodation, and experiential services. We have encouraged the people to effectively implement the movement to build a bright, green, clean, and beautiful rural environment. Currently, tourism is a new and effective direction in socio-economic development. Therefore, to encourage the villagers to engage in tourism, the commune has determined that the first priority is to promote the pioneering and exemplary role of Party members... From there, many families have followed suit and are gradually creating a movement to serve tourists in the village."

The people of Na Su village, Cha Nua commune, are preparing accommodation, ready to welcome guests.

Linking tourism development with the construction of new rural areas.

With its rich and diverse natural resources, Na Su has become a community-based tourism destination attracting visitors from both within and outside the province. Notably, despite only recently starting its tourism development, it has become a "bright spot" for community-based tourism in the border district of Nam Po, thanks to its systematic approach and the professional attitude and work ethic of its people.

Mr. Khoang Van Van, Secretary of the Party Committee of Cha Nua commune, said: "The policy of building community-based tourism villages in conjunction with building new rural areas has created a breakthrough, transforming people's awareness, mobilizing many resources for socio-economic development, and accelerating the progress of building new rural areas in the commune." Currently, Na Su village has 139 households and over 600 inhabitants. To help Na Su tourism take off, the commune's Party committee and government have coordinated with specialized agencies at the district and provincial levels to develop and guide the application of criteria on cultural environment at community tourism sites. They have organized training courses to raise awareness about the cultural environment, establishing standards for lifestyles and behaviors in communication and conduct, as well as other tourism business activities. They have also coordinated with grassroots mass mobilization teams and village associations to encourage households to dismantle unsanitary livestock pens and remove them from the village. Building hygienic toilets… The landscaping and flower planting in Na Su village are entirely made from locally sourced materials and created by the villagers themselves. The food is also prepared from locally grown produce, fish from the pond, and clean food that the villagers raise and cultivate themselves. It can be affirmed that community tourism in Na Su aims for environmental friendliness.

Choosing Na Su as the destination for his family trip, Mr. Tran Thanh Phuong, a resident of Son La, said: "Na Su not only boasts magnificent nature, a cool climate, fresh air, and picturesque scenery, but the attitude of the tourism workers and local people towards tourists is also very friendly and open..."

In addition, the commune has developed a plan, organized propaganda campaigns, held village meetings, and unanimously selected five families with clean and beautiful houses as model accommodation points, using the homestay method to allow tourists to experience the living space of the Thai ethnic minority; established a performing arts group, regularly organizing rehearsals and performances of folk songs, folk dances, and folk music to serve tourists. Ms. Thung Thi Lam, from the Na Su Community Tourism Management Board, shared: “Tourists come to Na Su mainly to enjoy experiencing unique cultural features such as cuisine, arts, customs, and traditions… Therefore, as people working in tourism, we always preserve the cultural identity of our ethnic group, especially the architecture of houses, ethnic costumes, and promoting the beauty of ethnic culture will be a highlight to attract tourists to visit.”

With effective and innovative approaches, especially by engaging local people, after a year of operation, Na Su tourism has become an attractive and ideal destination for tourists from all over. During the year, Na Su welcomed over 5,200 visitors (1,822 guests stayed for meals at the tourist site, 380 guests stayed in homestays, etc.); a fanpage was created, and the Na Su community tourism model was digitized, attracting approximately 72,000 visitors. "The success of the Na Su community tourism model will be a solid foundation and opportunity for Cha Nua to continue surveying and replicating it in other villages in the region," affirmed Secretary Khoang Van Van.

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