Promoting Northwest tourism and cuisine through the Miss Vietnam Ethnic Tourism 2025 contest

Contestants learn to cook with chefs from famous restaurants. (Photo: Organizing Committee)

The Miss Vietnam Ethnic Tourism 2025 contest kicked off on September 7, attracting the participation of many contestants from localities across the country. 30 most talented girls were selected for the preliminary round, participating in a reality TV show in Moc Chau plateau, Son La.

Moc Chau Plateau has always been an attractive tourist destination with lush green tea hills and charming scenery. Moc Chau is not only charming by its poetic nature but also by the sophistication of its local cuisine . As a prominent tourist destination, Moc Chau has many diverse culinary spaces, from luxury restaurants to community tourism models, each with its own unique mark, making the contestants' experience journey more enriching.

The contestants visited famous restaurants, met famous chefs to explore the flavors, spaces and culinary quintessence of the highlands. The contestants had interesting experiences when practicing making typical dishes of the Northwest region. With the theme "Highland Flavor", the contestants were divided into groups to take on the cooking challenge with 10 chefs from 10 famous restaurants - an activity that both explores and honors the cultural identity of highland cuisine.

After being divided into groups, the contestants were introduced to the meaning and characteristics of each dish by the chefs, before preparing a dish with a strong Northwestern identity together. This challenge not only helped them gain a deeper understanding of cuisine – an important factor in attracting tourists – but also contributed to spreading the spirit of green, sustainable tourism in Moc Chau – Son La. At the same time, this was also an opportunity for the contestants to demonstrate their ingenuity, sophistication and resourcefulness – the typical qualities of Vietnamese women.

The contestants also transformed into beautiful Thai girls, immersing themselves in community tourism activities with local people. They participated in cooking, playing, and performing traditional arts in a vibrant atmosphere imbued with local culture. Through these activities, the contestants not only understood more deeply the unique cultural values of Moc Chau but also learned how to exploit and promote those beauties in tourism development. This is also a valuable asset to help them accumulate more "real data" on the journey to become tourism ambassadors - one of the important criteria to conquer the title of Miss Vietnam Ethnic Tourism 2025.

Before that, the contestants also had a tour to explore Ban Vat (Muong Sang commune) - the highlight of Moc Chau community tourism with tourist attractions such as Vat pagoda, Dai Yem waterfall, experiencing brocade weaving, making traditional medicine with the locals. The contestants' journey continued with interesting experiences such as picking tea on the vast tea hills, conquering glass bridges, horseback riding, driving bumper cars, ziplining, tubing... - challenges that were both dramatic and contributed to vividly promoting the typical tourism products of Moc Chau.

Accompanying the Top 30 in the experiential activities is the Jury Board consisting of People's Artist Lan Huong - Head of the Jury, Doctor of Anthropometry Vu Thi Thu Huong and journalist Ngo Ba Luc. The judges monitor and score the contestants right from the actual competitions to have the most objective and comprehensive assessment.

Master Dam Huong Thuy - President of SMT Academy, Head of the Organizing Committee of the contest - shared: "Through experiential activities, the Jury will have the most honest and comprehensive assessments to select faces that converge beauty, intelligence and courage. We are not only looking for girls who are beautiful in appearance, but also want to discover cultural - tourism ambassadors who are capable of spreading the beauty of the country, people and culture of Vietnam to international friends".

She also emphasized that one of the contest's missions is to create a professional and humane playground, contributing to arousing national pride and encouraging the young generation to preserve and promote traditional cultural identity.

Miss Vietnam Ethnic Tourism 2025 is the first contest to be held, to honor the beauty, intelligence and bravery of women of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, in the harmony between tradition and modernity. The contest aims to promote cultural values, tourism and national identity to international friends, while spreading the spirit of solidarity, national pride and integration aspirations of the young generation.

With the goal of becoming a bridge to preserve and promote cultural heritage, the contest also contributes to promoting sustainable tourism development, especially green tourism and community tourism - an inevitable trend of the times.

The activities and the final round of the competition all take place in Moc Chau, Son La. The Final Night is expected to be held in mid-November. Currently, the contestants are participating in filming 4 reality TV episodes before entering the Semi-finals.

LINH KHANH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/quang-ba-du-lich-am-thuc-tay-bac-qua-cuoc-thi-hoa-hau-du-lich-dan-toc-viet-nam-2025-post918716.html